Hyderabad, June 24 (IANS) Telangana Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy has urged the Centre to intervene to ensure the utilisation of the state’s rightful share of water from the Tungabhadra project and to facilitate coordination among the stakeholder states.

Telangana is entitled to receive 15.9 TMC of water from the Tungabhadra Dam and river flow, but the Chief Minister expressed concern that the current inflow is not exceeding five to six TMC.

Under the RDS (Rajoli Banda Diversion Scheme), water is required to irrigate an ayacut of 83,987 acres across approximately 75 villages in Jogulamba Gadwal district.

Given the involvement of three states, he requested that the Tungabhadra Board be strengthened under the aegis of the Central Water Commission (CWC) to ensure the efficient utilisation of water shares among Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, and Karnataka.

On Wednesday evening, Chief Minister Revanth Reddy held a review meeting regarding the Tungabhadra project, the RDS, and inter-state river water disputes.

Irrigation Minister Uttam Kumar Reddy, MP Mallu Ravi, Government Advisor Jitender Reddy, Irrigation Advisor Aditya Nath Das, CMO Secretary Manik Raj, Irrigation Secretary Sridhar, Special Chief Secretary (Energy) Naveen Mittal, and senior officials from the Irrigation Department participated in the meeting.

The Chief Minister noted that the RDS anicut has become unsafe and urged that necessary safety-related works be identified on an urgent basis.

Regarding the modernisation of the RDS Canal, the Telangana government has already deposited Rs 59 crore, but the works remain incomplete. Officials explained to the Chief Minister that while work under Packages 3 and 4 has been finished, work under Packages 1 and 2 has not yet commenced.

It was decided to prioritise raising the issue of stalled works for the first two packages during the meeting scheduled for Thursday among the chief ministers of three states and the Union Minister for Jal Shakti. They will meet in Hosapete, Karnataka, during the inauguration of the newly installed crest gates of the Tungabhadra dam.

Engineers brought to the Chief Minister’s attention that water diversion at RDS is not proceeding as expected due to heavy siltation on the Telangana side.

An expert committee had recommended desilting in 2004, but those recommendations have not yet been implemented. It was decided to request the Centre to take immediate action on desilting. Since the silted area lies within Karnataka, it was decided to seek that state’s cooperation.

The Chief Minister directed that a representation be submitted to the Centre requesting the implementation of the 2004 expert committee’s suggestions alongside the desilting work.

He advised comparing the findings of the earlier report with the current ground reality and ordered senior Irrigation Department officials to prepare a comprehensive report immediately.

The Chief Minister instructed officials to explore alternatives for maximising water utilisation under the Tungabhadra Lift Irrigation Scheme.

–IANS

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