Water Resources Minister Nimmala Ramanaidu
Andhra Pradesh Water Resources Minister Nimmala Rama Naidu on Friday announced that ₹600 crore has been allocated for the ambitious Uttarandhra Sujala Sravanthi project in the current budget.
Answering questions in the State Assembly, the Minister said that ₹500 crore has been earmarked for project works and ₹100 crore for land acquisition.
He further informed the House that the government has identified 11 more priority irrigation projects in North Andhra and allocated ₹460 crore for their implementation. The Sujala Sravanthi project was initially launched during Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu’s 2014-2019 tenure. It aims to use 63.20 TMC of water to provide irrigation to 8 million acres in the erstwhile districts of Srikakulam, Vizianagaram and Visakhapatnam, supply drinking water to 30 million people and meet the industrial water needs of Visakhapatnam.
The coalition government decided to implement the project in two phases, with an estimated cost of ₹2,022 crore for Phase I and ₹4,210 crore for Phase II.
Emphasizing the importance of the Polavaram Left Main Canal, the minister said it was crucial to make North Andhra agriculturally prosperous. He claimed that although significant works were carried out between 2014 and 2019, no substantial expenditure was incurred on the canal during the tenure of the previous YSRCP government, except for ₹63 crore provided in the vote-on-account budget.
He said that after assuming office, the current government has allocated ₹1,209 crore to speed up the canal work and aims to ensure that Godavari waters reach Anakapalli by June 2026.
Interventions
Responding to a question by MLA Pantam Venkateswara Rao regarding encroachments on the Ramanayyapeta canal in Kakinada Rural, the Minister said that a joint survey by the Department of Irrigation and Revenue has identified 84 encroachments so far. ”Irrigation lands cannot be converted into residential sites and coordinated steps are being taken to remove illegal occupations,” he said. The government is considering whether the drainage systems and irrigation canals in Rajamahendravaram Rural should be handed over to the municipal authorities or kept under the irrigation department and a decision will be taken soon.
Published – 27 Feb 2026 20:41 IST
