Chief Minister K. Chandrashekhar Rao has instructed the officials of the Irrigation Department to focus on completion of canals under the proposed Kaleswaram project so that water could be supplied to tanks in the ayacut area under the project.
The Chief Minister said there was availability of water at the meeting point of Pranahita river with Indravati in Godavari and efficient utilisation of the available water would ensure that there was no scarcity in future.
Simultaneously, officials concerned were directed to focus on development of smaller water resources in areas that were not covered under the ayacut of major projects.
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Review of irrigation
Mr. Chandrasekhar Rao recalled how the Government could successfully reap the benefit of increased acreage and productivity after supplying water from SRSP to tanks through canals last year.
He was reviewing the progress of irrigation projects with senior officials here on Tuesday.
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The Chief Minister approved the designs of Kondapochamma Sagar whose storage capacity had been increased to 15 tmcft.
He directed the officials to call for tenders for the project within a fortnight and directed them to ensure that the project was completed in less than 10 months.
Power for LI schemes
The TS Transmission Corporation had made arrangements to supply power to the lift irrigation schemes for ensuring supply of water to one crore acres as envisaged. Bills for supply of power to lift irrigation projects would be borne by the Irrigation Department.
“The Government sees the expenditure incurred on agriculture as spending on farmers and not a burden on the exchequer,” he said.
The Irrigation Department should revamp its organisational set up for maintaining the projects underway and those in the pipeline. The department should have clarity on the requirement of staff right from the level of the engineer-in-chief to chief engineers and take steps to fill the posts accordingly.
Field based staff
The machinery should not be Hyderabad-based, but should be spread out into the areas of operation so that farmers reaped the benefit of the presence of officials in their vicinity.
The officials concerned were instructed to take steps for regular maintenance of the equipment for the lift irrigation through proper planning besides ensuring that there were no vacancies in the department.
Drinking water
Steps should also be initiated to utilise Kaleswaram project for irrigation and drinking water needs. The officials concerned should conduct an in-depth study to utilise Srisailam water for Palamuru project to cater to the needs of 20 lakh acres in the erstwhile Mahabubnagar and Ranga Reddy districts.
Officials concerned should ensure that water efficiency levels were maintained under Mission Bhagiratha so that water could be supplied to industrial use too, he said according to an official release.