Centre to Hold Key Meeting on Telangana Irrigation Project

A key development has emerged regarding the proposed barrage at Tummidihatti in Kumram Bheem Asifabad district, a component of the Dr B.R. Ambedkar Pranahita–Chevella Lift Irrigation Scheme. The Central Water Commission (CWC) will hold a meeting with the irrigation secretaries of Telangana and Maharashtra in New Delhi on September 1. The meeting comes after Telangana Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi on June 11 to grant permission for constructing the barrage at a height of 150 metres. The proposal includes two barrages on the Wardha and Wainganga rivers, both planned at a height of 150 metres. A preliminary feasibility report has stated that the proposed structures can be built without submerging villages in Telangana or Maharashtra.

Telangana and Maharashtra had earlier signed an agreement in 2016 for constructing the Tummidihatti barrage at a height of 148 metres. Hydrology clearance was granted in 2015, while several other approvals were also obtained subsequently. The Telangana government is expected to seek Maharashtra’s cooperation for the revised 150-metre proposal during the September 1 meeting. Meanwhile, the CWC is scheduled to hold another meeting on September 7 to discuss inter-state disputes concerning Krishna and Godavari waters between Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. Officials from both states and members of the committee constituted by the Union Ministry of Jal Shakti will participate.