Hyderabad: Getting serious over the delay in the completion of the works, State Irrigation Minister N Uttam Kumar Reddy has asked the officials to take up the Sita Rama Lift Irrigation Project (SRLIP) and the Sitamma Sagar Multi-Purpose Project (SSMPP) on a fast-track basis.

The Minister directed the senior officials to monitor all land and forest clearance-related issues by being physically present at the site on a daily basis and also asked the engineering officials to personally brief him on the total cost, progress, and hurdles in land acquisition.

In the high-level review meeting on the two projects attended by Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka, Ministers Tummala Nageswara Rao and Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy and senior officials, Uttam said, “This is the working season. Despite the constraints, you must move forward with full speed. We cannot afford any more delays.”

He directed that land acquisition should be expedited across all segments of the project, and that “issues related to compensatory afforestation must be addressed without further back-and-forth”, Uttam told the officials. He noted that some works were earlier taken up without approvals, and the National Green Tribunal (NGT) had since issued a penalty of Rs 53.41 crore. “We are preparing a legal strategy to get the penalty cancelled”, he added.

The Minister also asked for a note justifying priority payments to contractors and stakeholders, so that the matter could be placed before the Finance Department through proper channels. He emphasised the importance of regular follow-ups and said another review would be held in exactly one month to assess improvements.

Uttam Kumar Reddy also responded positively to the appeal made by former MLA Gummadi Narsaiah, who was also present in the meeting, for ensuring water supply to Yellandu. He directed that a technical team study the proposal and meet him with their assessment.

The Minister reiterated that the Sitamma Sagar project would also include a hydroelectric component and the government had submitted a 282.8 MW plan to TG GENCO, which was under process. It was the present Congress government which had convinced the Centre and the Central Water Commission (CWC) to allocate 67 tmcft of Godavari river water for the project, he claimed.