The Telangana Rashtra Samiti Government has alleged that the Congress Government of the erstwhile united Andhra Pradesh has commenced works on irrigation projects in Mahabubnagar district without fulfilling the requisite formalities and this has inordinately delayed the project works.
In a strong rebuttal to the Opposition charges on irrigation projects voiced at a round table meeting organised by the Congress on Monday, the government said administrative sanction was given for 19 major and 12 medium projects in addition to modernisation of two projects involving an estimated ₹1.31 lakh crore in 2005, but only Alisagar and Guthpha projects aimed at stabilising the ayacut under Nizamsagar project were completed.
That the previous government had taken up the projects as eye wash and lacked commitment to complete them was evident from the fact that key issues like land acquisition costs and expenditure incurred on account of setting up power transmission network, a key element of the lift irrigation projects and other issues were not factored in when the estimates were prepared.
The then government did not consider the costs that would be incurred on providing relief and rehabilitation of the project displaced families. Delays in land acquisition, non-completion of works relating to railway crossings and others had confined the ayacut under the proposed projects including the Kalwakurthy, Bhima, Koilsagar, Jurala and Nettempadu.
Kalwakurthy project
“In the Kalwakurthy lift irrigation scheme for instance, the previous Congress Government had estimated the project cost at ₹2,990 crore including R&R package of ₹67.5 crore. The costs have, however, seen significant rise over the past one decade taking the R&R component to close to ₹300 crore while the costs for setting up power transmission lines to lift the water has been pegged at ₹414.2 crore,” said Minister C. Lakshma Reddy and MP Jithender Reddy.
They said the total cost escalation including construction of pump houses, sub-stations, motors and pumps was estimated at ₹1,906 crore and the Government could supply water to 1.6 lakh acre during the current year as against 13,000 acres that were irrigated during the 10-year Congress rule.
Thanks to the proactive steps launched by the Government, the district witnessed significant rise in agricultural activity as water was provided to a total of 5.5 lakh acres during kharif and 1.28 lakh acres during rabi. These initiatives helped check migration from the district and “people are in fact coming back to the district from other places due to the employment opportunities that are being generated here.”
