Revanth to meet Fadnavis to approve height of Tummidihatti project in Mumbai

Telangana believes that the earlier agreed proposal of a 148 meter FRL dam at Tummidihatti, in Koutala mandal of Adilabad district, will not fulfill its intended purpose. File | Photo credit: The Hindu

Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy has stepped up efforts to revive the long-pending Tummidihatti barrage across the Pranahita river at Tummiddihatti on the Telangana-Maharashtra border, with a state government delegation set to hold crucial talks with Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis in Mumbai on Monday (2148 Oct) to secure his approval to increase the 150-152 meter full reservoir level to 150-152 meters on Monday (Oct 2148) (FRL).

The Telangana delegation, led by the Chief Minister, would consist of Irrigation and Civil Supplies Minister N. Uttam Kumar Reddy and senior officials and engineers of the Irrigation Department. The Maharashtra CM would be assisted by Water Resources Minister Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil and senior officials and engineers of the department.

In 2016, an agreement was reached between the two governments, with K. Chandrashekhar Rao and Devendra Fadnavis at the helm of affairs, and the height agreed for the Tummidihatti Barrage was 148 metres, as Maharashtra had objected to the 152 meter FRL due to possible submergence of parts of the nature reserve in Maharasharash. Medigadda barrage at 100 meters FRL was agreed at the same meeting. The project subsequently lost priority as the BRS government focused on the Kaleshwaram project.

Now the Congress government plans to revive the Pranahitha-Chevella project by starting a barrage at Tummidihatti with 152 meters FRL as originally planned in 2007 to take water by gravity and a small lift to the Yellampally project. The Telangana government argues that only 2,300 acres of land would face submergence with a levee at 152 meters FRL and less than 1,000 acres with 150 meters FRL. The government is ready to consider 150 meters if it helps secure Maharashtra’s consent.

On May 26, Mr. Revanth Reddy wrote to Mr. Fadnavis seeking time from the Telangana delegation to discuss the height of the barrage, implications of submergence and other inter-state matters. He subsequently wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on June 11 seeking the Centre’s intervention.

The Government of Telangana is of the view that a barrage with 148 meters FRL would not serve the intended purpose of water diversion. The government is ready with a bloated study report by the Central Water and Power Research Station (CWPRS), Pune, to support it. Apart from irrigating two lakh acres of land in the backward Adilabad district, the dam is planned to serve Kaleshwaram project ayacut and drinking water and industrial needs to bypass the three damaged Kaleshwaram project dams.

The Telangana Chief Minister will arrive in Mumbai on Sunday evening and will stay there for Monday’s meeting. The Congress government has also asked the BJP leadership in Telangana, including two Union ministers, to convince its central leadership to suggest Maharashtra agree to 152 meters of FRL.

Published – 25 Oct 2026 19:23 IST