Farmers under the Yeleru reservoir ayacut in East Godavari are left in the lurch as only 45% of the work of modernisation of the reservoir has been completed in the first phase.
The ayacut is spread across 67,000 acres in Peddapuram, Pithapuram, Jaggampeta and Prathipadu Assembly constituencies and as part of modernisation, the Water Resources Department has to regulate water supply, strengthen bunds, canals and take up other works.
The government allocated ₹294 crore for the works, of which ₹127 crore was earmarked for the first phase and ₹167 crore for the second phase.
Owing to fund crunch, works in the first phase are not yet completed, and the government has not released funds for land acquisition. The farmers are demanding compensation before acquiring their lands.
According to the schedule, the first phase was to be completed by May, 2017, but so far only 45% has been completed and irrigation officials are not in a position to fix a deadline for completion of the works.
Tenders
Meanwhile, officials have not called tenders for second phase, as the government earlier cancelled ₹167 crore worth of tenders, as only one tender was filed.
About 260 acres is needed to be acquired for the second phase.
Minister for Water Resources Deveineni Uma Maheswara Rao in 2016 assured to complete modernisation works by giving crop holiday to the ayacut, but it did not materialise.
So far, the government acquired 303 acres in the mandals of Peddapuram, Kirlampudi and Pithapuram. Though the land acquisition process was completed one year ago in these three mandals, the government is yet to release the compensation amount of ₹68 crore.
Meanwhile, many farmers are expressing doubts on the quality of the works and the structures are reportedly not able to cope up with the velocity of water. The contractor has urged the government to give him an extension up to 2020.
According to Executive Engineer of Yeleru Reservoir project, the department has sent proposals to the government asking it to release funds for land acquisition.
