TPCC leaders urge Karnataka CM to release water 

Hyderabad: Telangana Congress leaders on Tuesday called on Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah in Bengaluru and pleaded with him for release of 3 tmcft of water from Narayanapur to Jurala for drinking water for Mahbubnagar. The Congress leaders also discussed with him the modernisation of Rajolibanda diversion scheme in Mahbubnagar district.

• Congress leaders plead with Siddaramaiah to release 3 tmcft of water from Narayapura to Jurala to quench the thirst of people in parched Mahbubnagar district
• They also urge the Karnataka Chief Minister to ensure that works on Package 1 and 2 of RDS be taken up immediately

The Congress delegation comprised TPCC President N Uttam Kumar Reddy, Leaders of Opposition K Jana Reddy and Mohammed Ali Shabbir, MLAs D K Aruna, G Chinna Reddy, A Sampath Kumar and C Vamshichand Reddy, MLC Ponguleti Sudhakar Reddy and other leaders and farmers.

The Telangana Congress leaders urged Siddaramaiah to ensure that the modernisation of canal works on Package Numbers 1 and 2 of the RDS and raising the anicut height by 6 inches are taken up immediately. They brought to the notice of the Karnataka Chief Minister that an ayacut of 83,987 acres in the drought-prone Alampur constituency of the Mahbubnagar district would benefit if Packages 1 and 2 works were taken up.

About 15.9 tmcft of water is to be given through the RDS. Uttam Kumar Reddy, in a memorandum, submitted to the Karnataka Chief Minister, requested Siddaramaiah to release 3 tmcft of water from Narayanpur to Jurala for drinking water purpose. "Mahbubnagar district is facing severe drinking water scarcity and release of 3 tmcft would mitigate the problem to some extent," he said.

The Karnataka Chief Minister promised to consider the appeal and said that a decision would be taken soon after holding a meeting with top officials of Irrigation Department. The Congress leaders also presented a brief note on the multi-purpose RDS project built across Tungabhadra river at Rajolibanda.

The scheme was sanctioned during erstwhile Nizam State and the construction of its anicut began in 1946 and completed by 1958. Water was supplied through 143 km long RDS canal to benefit drought-prone 15 villages in Manvi Taluq of Karnataka, 75 villages in Alampur in Mahbubnagar and four villages in Kurnool. As per the Krishna Water Dispute Tribunal award 1973, 17.10 tmcft was allotted to RDS which included 7 tmcft of water from the Tungabhadra Dam.

As the project was more than 50 years old, the realisation of designed discharge at Telangana Border gradually declined to an average of 5 tmcft against allocation of 15.90 tmcft. Uttam Kumar Reddy said the previous Congress government had constituted an expert committee in July, 2004 and the committee suggested several measures to improve the realisation of water in RDS canal.

He said the then Congress government sanctioned Rs 72 crore for modernisation of RDS project consisting of 8 packages out of which package I to IV falls in Karnataka area. He said the estimated cost of Packages I to IV were revised and the then government accorded revised administrative approval of Rs 92.74 crore in August, 2007. "Amount was deposited with the Karnataka government for the execution of modernisation works on four packages was Rs. 58.933 crore during November 11, 2007, March, 2008 and September,2009," he said.

Furnishing details of all four packages, Uttam Kumar Reddy said due to the non-completion of these packages, the realisation of water at Telangana border was very less and not getting required discharge. "Unless balance portion of structures and lining are completed, the designed discharge realisation at Telangana border is not possible," he said.