Congress Govt To Complete Devadula In 2 years, Fast-Tracks All Pending Irrigation Projects: Uttam Kumar Reddy

· Ministers Uttam, Ponguleti inspect Devannapet Pump House, review Bhadrakali Tank works

Hanamkonda, May 3: Irrigation Minister Uttam Kumar Reddy on Saturday announced that the Congress government would complete the J. Chokka Rao Devadula Lift Irrigation Scheme within the next two years, bringing permanent irrigation relief to large parts of the state.

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He said the government has already taken a decision to allocate adequate funds, clear land acquisition hurdles and expedite pending works to ensure the scheme delivers water to farmers in the united Warangal district and also to Alair and Bhongir regions. “We will complete the Devadula project and provide irrigation facilities to 6 lakh acres in combined Warangal and Bhongir districts,” he said.

During his inspection of the Devadula project works in Dharmasagar mandal, accompanied by Revenue Minister Ponguleti Srinivasa Reddy and MLAs Kadiyam Srihari, Yashaswini Reddy and Nayini Rajender Reddy, the minister came down heavily on the previous BRS government. He said the KCR-led regime had spent a staggering Rs 1.81 lakh crore on irrigation in the last ten years but failed to create any significant ayacut. He accused the BRS of inflating project estimates, mismanaging execution, and pushing the state into deep financial debt without delivering tangible benefits to the farming community. He said the Congress government was now correcting that historic blunder by fast-tracking all pending works and ensuring every rupee spent translates into water in the fields.

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The minister reviewed progress on the 49.06 km-long main tunnel under Devadula Phase-III Package-III and visited the Devannapet pump house, where officials informed that Pump-02 had already been commissioned and pumped water to Dharmasagar reservoir for 62 hours. Pump-01 would be commissioned by May 31 and Pump-03 by July 31. To resolve end tunnel leakages and avoid interference with Mission Bhagiratha pipelines, 110 large steel pipes had been transported from the Manjeera project in Kamareddy, and insertion work is under way in all three rows, expected to be completed by the end of May. The project requires an additional Rs 3,312 crore for completion and aims to irrigate 5.57 lakh acres across nine drought-prone districts.

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At Rajavaram village, the minister reviewed works under the EM-1 tunnel and pump house, where two 4.3 MW pumps have been installed to lift 15.3 cumecs of water from Dharmasagar to Ghanpur tank. SCADA works and pressure main encasement are in progress. Officials said that a 2.8 km approach channel and super passage would be completed by August. The minister also reviewed progress on Phase-II RFMC works sanctioned for Rs 148.76 crore to improve the Ghanpur Main Canal through CC lining and construction of canal structures. Earthwork and desilting were in progress across multiple stretches.

Later, the minister inspected the desiltation and flood prevention works at the historic Bhadrakali tank in Warangal. Of the 11.5 lakh cubic metres of silt planned for removal, 2.7 lakh cum had already been excavated. The government had approved Rs 16.11 crore for transporting the remaining silt to government-designated lands. A separate flood prevention project worth Rs 158 crore was also in progress, with the outfall regulator nearing 5,000 cum of completed concrete works. Designs for infall structures and Bondivagu protection walls are pending approval.

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A high-level review meeting was held at the Hanamkonda Integrated Collectorate, where Minister Uttam Kumar Reddy was joined by fellow ministers Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy and D Seetakkha Anasuya. Also present were MP Kadiyam Kavya, MLCs B. Ramachandra Naik and Basavaraju Saraiah, Warangal Mayor Gundu Sudharani, MLAs Nayini Rajender Reddy, Nagaraju, Gandra Satyanarayana Rao, Yashaswini Reddy, Kadiyam Srihari and Murali Naik, along with senior officials including Special Chief Secretary for Irrigation Prashant Jeevan Patil, ENC Anil Kumar, and Collectors of Hanamkonda, Warangal, Mahabubabad, Bhupalpally, Jangaon and Mulugu.

Speaking to the media after the meeting, Uttam Kumar Reddy said Telangana had created a new record in paddy procurement. He said the government had drawn up plans to procure 70.13 lakh metric tonnes of paddy in the ongoing Rabi season and that 28.58 lakh MT had already reached procurement centres. So far, paddy has been purchased from 3,32,347 farmers, including 10.32 lakh MT of fine variety (sanna) and 14.11 lakh MT of coarse variety (doddu). The total procurement value stood at Rs 5,664.09 crore, of which Rs 3,163.47 crore had already been credited to farmers. He assured that payments were being made within 48 hours of procurement, and that the government was paying bonuses for fine varieties even in the Rabi season.

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The minister strongly defended the Congress government’s decision to distribute fine rice (sanna biyyam) free of cost to all eligible poor families. He said this was not just a welfare scheme but a historic and dignified reform unmatched in the country. “The Congress government wants to put light in the eyes of the poor, not just rice in their plates,” he said.

He added that the state had also finalised plans to stabilise six lakh acres of new ayacut every year and would soon begin desilting of all silted reservoirs across Telangana, including the Sriramsagar Project. He said the state was determined to ensure that irrigation and welfare were no longer slogans, but visible and measurable outcomes under Congress rule. (Maxim News)

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