Hyderabad: Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy has assured ₹5,000 crore on priority for land acquisition and rehabilitation works linked to irrigation projects across Telangana, Irrigation and Civil Supplies Minister N. Uttam Kumar Reddy said on Saturday.
The government has already released about ₹2,000 crore. It is processing the remaining ₹3,000 crore, Uttam said. Moreover, he made it clear that a shortage of funds should not delay projects nearing completion.
The Minister reviewed irrigation projects in Karimnagar, Jagtial, Peddapalli and Rajanna Sircilla districts. Further, he directed Collectors and irrigation officials to speed up land acquisition and rehabilitation works.
He also asked officials to expedite forest and environmental clearances. Meanwhile, officials must raise financial requirements and obtain necessary tokens without delay.
Agriculture Minister and district In-charge Minister Tummala Nageswara Rao, IT and Industries Minister D. Sridhar Babu, Transport Minister Ponnam Prabhakar and Social Welfare and Tribal Welfare Minister Adluri Lakshman Kumar attended the review. Elected representatives also took part.
Uttam Kumar Reddy said officials should process compensation for landowners alongside engineering works wherever possible. In addition, he said the Chief Minister was giving special attention to irrigation projects.
The objective, he said, was to convert investments already made into irrigation benefits for farmers without delay.
Irrigation projects: Mid Manair works to restart, Pathipaka DPR by August-end
The Mid Manair Left Canal received particular attention during the review. Its works have remained stalled for about four-and-a-half years.
Uttam Kumar Reddy directed officials to resolve land issues and restart the remaining works. Further, he asked them to pursue revised estimates, land acquisition, tenders and statutory clearances simultaneously.
The Minister also reviewed the Sri Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy Reservoir at Pathipaka in Dharmaram mandal of Peddapalli district. Moreover, he directed officials to accelerate work on the project.
The project aims to create 10,000 acres of new irrigation potential. It would also stabilise 2.40 lakh acres under D-83 to D-94 of the Kakatiya Main Canal.
The command area covers Dharmapuri, Choppadandi, Peddapalli, Ramagundam and Manthani constituencies. Meanwhile, officials are examining two alternatives with capacities of 3 TMC and 5 TMC.
Officials have completed the LIDAR survey and data processing. They are conducting borehole drilling, trial pits and geotechnical investigations. The officials told the Minister they would submit the DPR by the end of August.
The Rollavagu project in Beerpur mandal of Jagtial district also came up for review. The project is 96 per cent complete.
It aims to increase storage from 0.250 TMC to about 0.949 TMC by using the local catchment. The project would sustain nearly 15,000 acres of tail-end ayacut.
Workers have largely completed three bunds, the surplus weir and head sluices. However, the remaining work depends mainly on forest clearance.
A portion of Bund-II falls on forest land. Officials have identified land for compensatory afforestation. They have also secured approval for the wildlife mitigation plan.
Uttam Kumar Reddy directed officials to prepare a project-wise inventory of pending land acquisition, R&R, forest and environmental clearance issues. Finally, the inventory must specify the funds required, current status and deadline for each issue.