Hyderabad, July 16: Telangana Irrigation Minister Uttam Kumar Reddy on Thursday accused the previous Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) government of damaging the state’s irrigation sector despite spending nearly Rs 1.8 lakh crore on irrigation projects during its ten year tenure.
Addressing the media during his visit to Bhadradri Kothagudem district, Uttam Kumar Reddy alleged that projects were executed without proper planning and claimed that the Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Project suffered because of decisions driven by commission interests rather than engineering standards.
Uttam Kumar Reddy Targets KCR Over Irrigation Projects
The Minister said the shortcomings of the previous government had become evident, pointing to the collapse of the Medigadda barrage and alleged flaws in the execution of the Kaleshwaram project. He claimed that changes were made to the Detailed Project Report (DPR) and that some structures were built at locations different from those originally proposed.
Uttam Kumar Reddy assured that the Sitarama Sagar Project would be completed and said the government was committed to diverting Godavari waters to the erstwhile Khammam district. He questioned why irrigation benefits from the project were not extended to even a single acre during the previous BRS administration.
The Minister said the government had directly transferred payments to farmers after procuring paddy and added that all three barrages were currently undergoing technical evaluation. He maintained that the Congress government was taking decisions based on expert recommendations.
Criticising the previous administration, Uttam Kumar Reddy questioned why no major irrigation project was fully completed despite the large expenditure incurred over the past decade. He alleged that the BRS government was responsible for weakening Telangana’s irrigation infrastructure.
The Minister also described Khammam district as a stronghold of the Congress party and said the district continues to play an important role in the state’s governance.
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