Govt announces 25 per cent salary hike for SLBC tunnel project staff

Hyderabad: IrrigationMinister N Uttam Kumar Reddy has announced a 25 per cent salary hike for ground-level workers engaged in the Srisailam Left Bank Canal (SLBC) tunnel project. Presiding over a high-level review meeting at the Secretariat on Sunday, the Minister stated that the government is treating the construction as a prestigious initiative and is working on a war footing to ensure its completion.

The meeting was attended by a panel of experts and senior officials, including Lieutenant General Harpal Singh, Irrigation Department advisor Adithyanath Das, Engineer-in-Chief Amjad Hussain, Colonel Parikshith Mehra, and Principal Secretary Rahul Bojja. Discussions focused on the immediate restart of tunnel works and the deployment of advanced technical solutions.

Minister Uttam revealed that the government will utilise state-of-the-art technology for the remaining 9.8-kilometre stretch of the tunnel, moving beyond conventional tunnel boring machines (TBM). He confirmed that an electromagnetic survey of the leftover route has already been completed. Additionally, a sophisticated support system has been established to provide real-time estimates of underground conditions during the excavation process.

Highlighting the project’s significance, the Minister remarked that the SLBC tunnel is set to be recorded in history as the longest of its kind in the world. He confirmed that funds have been released for work to proceed from both ends of the tunnel route simultaneously.

The Minister reiterated the Congress government’s commitment to eradicating the long-standing fluorosis problem in the Nalgonda district through this project. By providing adequate irrigation and drinking water, the administration aims to transform Nalgonda into a “green district.” A follow-up review meeting to monitor construction progress is scheduled for Monday.