CWC calls Telangana-Maharashtra meeting on Tummidihatti barrage on September 1
Hyderabad, Aug 27 (TNT): The Central Water Commission (CWC) has convened a meeting between Telangana and Maharashtra on September 1 in New Delhi to discuss technical and inter-state issues concerning the proposed Tummidihatti Barrage on the Pranahita river.
Senior officials from the Water Resources Departments of both states have been invited to the meeting, which will be chaired by CWC Chairman at 11 am at Sewa Bhawan, an official release said here on Thursday.
The meeting follows Telangana Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy’s efforts to resolve the issue with the Centre and Maharashtra.
Reddy had written to Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on May 26 seeking a meeting between the two states to arrive at a mutually acceptable solution on the proposed barrage.
He had also raised the issue with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, following which the Prime Minister’s Office forwarded his letter to the Ministry of Jal Shakti.
Reddy subsequently wrote to Union Jal Shakti Minister C.R. Patil on August 5, seeking the Centre’s intervention in the matter.
The Telangana government is seeking to construct the barrage at a height of 152 metres, against the 148 metres earlier agreed upon by Maharashtra.
The state government has maintained that drawing the required quantity of water through gravity would not be feasible at the 148-metre level and that pumping water would involve high electricity costs.
Telangana has also informed the Centre that studies by the Central Water and Power Research Station (CWPRS) indicated that the additional submergence resulting from raising the water level could be mitigated.
The state government has been pursuing the issue with the Centre and Maharashtra for early implementation of the Tummidihatti project, which is aimed at providing irrigation to backward and drought-prone areas of Telangana.
TNT TS
