Govt to complete irrigation projects by Dec 2028: Uttam

Irrigation Minister N Uttam Kumar Reddy on Sunday said that the State government is committed to completing all pending irrigation project works by December 2028 and assured that funds would be released through the ‘green channel’ to speed up execution.

He said land acquisition for the ongoing projects would be completed by June 2, with the government allocating around Rs 5,000 crore for the purpose. The Minister also said discussions were held regarding funding requirements for the Palamuru–Ranga Reddy Lift Irrigation Project, one of the key projects intended to provide irrigation to drought-prone areas of the region.

Speaking to the media after reviewing irrigation works in the joint Palamuru district, the Minister said the government under the leadership of Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy is focused on ensuring effective utilisation of Krishna river waters for Telangana. He said the government aims to provide irrigation benefits to the joint Mahbubnagar and Nalgonda districts through the completion of major projects.

Uttam Kumar Reddy said the government had conducted a comprehensive review of all irrigation projects in the region and was working on addressing pending issues related to land acquisition, funding and project execution.

Criticising the previous government, Uttam Kumar Reddy alleged that claims that the Palamuru–Rangareddy project was 90 per cent complete were misleading. He said that if only Rs 27,000 crore had been spent on a project with an estimated cost of Rs 55,000 crore, it could not be described as 90 per cent complete.

He further alleged that the project estimates were later increased to Rs 84,000 crore during the tenure of the previous government. Despite spending Rs 27,000 crore, he said, not a single acre of land had received irrigation water under the project.

The Minister also described the decision taken earlier to shift the Palamuru project’s water source from Jurala to Srisailam as a “grave injustice” to the region.

Uttam Kumar Reddy said the present government was determined to complete the irrigation projects and ensure that farmers benefit from them. He reiterated that all project works would be completed by December 2028 with adequate funding support. He added that about Rs 1,550 crore would be spent to complete pending works and ensure that the projects are operational at the earliest.