HYDERABAD
Irrigation and Civil Supplies Minister N. Uttam Kumar Reddy told the assembly on Sunday that the government is actively working to rehabilitate and revive the three barrages of the Kaleshwaram project – Medigadda, Annaram and Sundilla – by involving IIT Delhi and international experts.
He reiterated that the mistakes made by the BRS government, including huge high-cost (interest) loans for the project, resulted in the current government paying out ₹10,000 crore every year in interest alone. It was with the intention of using the dam that the government had experts from the National Dam Safety Authority (NDSA) investigate.
Besides, they have also launched a Vigilance and Enforcement (V&E) inquiry and a one-judge judicial inquiry by a retired Supreme Court judge into irregularities in the planning, design, construction, quality control and operation and maintenance stages of the three barrages.
To others, the work to restore the dykes seemed slow, but the government was proceeding with caution, the minister said. On the Pranahita-Chevella project, he said he would continue firing at Tummidihatti as a resource as originally intended. However, the water transfer route was changing as the Tummidihatti-Yellampally route via Mancherial and coal mines was fraught with many problems.
He said that one RV Engineering Consultancy working in IIT Chennai has been tasked to examine an alternative route for linking Tummidihatti to Sundilla Barrage. The government will soon take up the project and complete it within three years, he noted.
At Palamuru-Rangareddy, he said the viability of Laxmidevipally reservoir would be studied in a week to provide water to areas including Shadnagar and Parigi and based on the study report, land acquisition would be initiated. The minister announced this while clarifying the discussion of voting on applications for subsidies.
Published – 29 March 2026 23:25 IST
