Telangana CM Seeks Centre’s Intervention to Resolve Tummidihetti Barrage Issue with Maharashtra
New Delhi, Aug. 5 (TNT): The Telangana Government on Wednesday sought the Centre’s intervention to resolve the long-pending issue of increasing the height of the proposed Tummidihetti Barrage on the Pranahita River by facilitating talks between Telangana and Maharashtra.
Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy, accompanied by Irrigation Minister N. Uttam Kumar Reddy, met Union Jal Shakti Minister C.R. Patil in New Delhi and requested him to convene an early meeting between the two states to resolve the issue.
The Chief Minister said Telangana has sought approval to raise the barrage height to 150-152 metres, stating that a height of 148 metres, agreed upon earlier, would not ensure gravity-based water supply.
Revanth Reddy informed the Union Minister that the Central Water and Power Research Station (CWPRS), Pune, had studied the feasibility of constructing the barrage between 148 and 152 metres and found that increasing the height would not result in any significant additional submergence, with nearly half of the submerged area remaining within the riverbed.
He said a barrage height of 150-152 metres would enable gravity-based water supply, reducing dependence on lift irrigation and lowering electricity consumption, while helping meet Telangana’s growing irrigation requirements.
The Chief Minister also referred to his letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking approvals for the project and said the matter had subsequently been referred by the Prime Minister’s Office to the Ministry of Jal Shakti.
Stating that the project would provide irrigation benefits to the underdeveloped erstwhile Adilabad district, Revanth Reddy urged the Union Minister to facilitate an early resolution of the issue.
Responding to the request, C.R. Patil said the Ministry had received the communication from the Prime Minister’s Office and announced that the Central Water Commission (CWC) would first convene a meeting of officials from Telangana and Maharashtra.
This would be followed by a meeting of the Irrigation Ministers of both states to take the discussions forward, Patial added.
TNT KS
