Hyderabad: Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy urged the Centre to ensure Telangana receives its rightful Tungabhadra Water Share and strengthen coordination among the three riparian states for equitable river water utilisation.
The Chief Minister made the request during a high-level review meeting at Jala Soudha on the Tungabhadra Project, the Rajolibanda Diversion Scheme (RDS) and inter-state river water disputes. Irrigation Minister N. Uttam Kumar Reddy, Excise Minister Jupally Krishna Rao, MP Mallu Ravi, government advisers and senior irrigation officials attended the meeting.
Revanth Reddy said Telangana is entitled to 15.9 TMC of water from the Tungabhadra Dam and river flows. However, he said the state currently receives only five to six TMC. He added that the RDS is expected to irrigate 83,987 acres across nearly 75 villages in Jogulamba Gadwal district.
Tungabhadra Water Share remains key concern
The Chief Minister urged the Centre to strengthen the Tungabhadra Board under the Central Water Commission. He said stronger coordination among Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka would improve water utilisation. He also expressed concern over the condition of the RDS barrage. Therefore, he directed officials to identify urgent safety works.
Officials told the meeting that Telangana had already deposited ₹59 crore for the Rajolibanda Diversion Canal modernisation. However, work on Packages 1 and 2 has yet to begin. They added that contractors completed Packages 3 and 4. Consequently, the Chief Minister decided to raise the issue at the upcoming meeting of the Union Jal Shakti Minister and the Chief Ministers of the three states.
Tungabhadra Water Share depends on desilting
Engineers informed the meeting that heavy silt accumulation on the Telangana side of the RDS has reduced water diversion capacity. Moreover, Revanth Reddy noted that an expert committee recommended desilting in 2004. Yet the authorities have not implemented those recommendations.
He directed officials to request immediate desilting by the Centre. He also asked them to seek Karnataka’s cooperation because the affected area lies in that state. Furthermore, the Chief Minister instructed the Irrigation Department to prepare a detailed report comparing the 2004 recommendations with current conditions.
He also directed officials to explore ways to maximise water use under the Tungabhadra Lift Irrigation Scheme. In addition, he asked them to expand the storage capacity of the Mallammakunta Balancing Reservoir and speed up the project to improve water utilisation from Thummilla.