Palamur LI scheme tops TS agenda

May 04, 2015 12:53 pm | Updated 12:53 pm IST - HYDERABAD:

In a move to build a strong case for taking up Palamur lift irrigation scheme in Mahabubnagar, the Telangana Government is veering round to the argument that the said project is nothing but the erstwhile Bhima reservoir project conceived by the then Hyderabad Government way back in 1930.

Of late, Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao has started mentioning that Palamur LI scheme is the same Bhima reservoir project for which water allocation was made earlier. To buttress his argument, he referred to details of the project and a comprehensive report available in the Telangana State Legislative Assembly library. He reportedly emphasised the point that the LI scheme neededno clearances afresh as it had already been done.

In other words, the Bhima Project could now be implemented as Palamur Lift irrigation Scheme to provide water for irrigation to the parched lands of perennially drought-prone Mahabubnagar and Ranga Reddy districts. Besides supplying drinking water to Hyderabad, the project is also expected to irrigate some small extent of land in Nalgonda district, sources told The Hindu .

As per the records available in State Legislative Assembly Library and incorporated in the report of Bhima Project, the investigation of the said project was taken up by the erstwhile Hyderabad Government in the year 1930. Two years later, a preliminary report was submitted to the then Hyderabad Government to construct a dam a Tangadi village of the then Gulbarga district to irrigate an area of 4,20,000 acres in Gulbarga and Mahabubnagar districts. After the formation of Andhra Pradesh, Bhima Project Report was prepared in 1957.

The Bhima is one of the principal tributaries of the Krishna and rises in the Western Ghats. When the then Hyderabad State’s share of waters of the river and its tributaries came in for serious consideration, it became of primary importance to examine the possibilities of utilising the waters from the Bhima.

Accordingly based on a preliminary survey and report, it was envisaged to construct a masonry dam across Bhima with height of 84 feet above the deep bed of the river. Its total length was to be 219 chains. A canal of 150 miles was planned for the irrigation of the lands in Mahaboobnagar district in addition to Gulbarga. The dam was proposed to be completed within five years and the canals were to be completed within nine years.

In the report it was mentioned that Mahabubnagar district can be served by the project as it is scarcity affected and famine stricken. It has very low intensity of rainfall. It also said that the project will facilitate for the rapid development of irrigation in the area.

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