Telangana CM asks officials to be ready to convince Maharashtra on 152 m FRL dam at Tummidihatti

Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy along with his cabinet colleagues at a meeting on the Tummidihatti firing in Hyderabad on Friday. | Photo credit: By arrangement

Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy on Friday asked officials to be ready for early talks with Maharashtra on the construction of the Tummidihatti barrage across the Pranahitha river with a full reservoir level (FRL) of 152 meters by making a case to convince the upper riparian state.

Addressing a meeting with ministers and officials here, he noted that his Maharashtra counterpart Devendra Fadnavis had recently hinted that Telangana would be invited to discuss Tummidihatti after October 23 (Friday). Deputy Chief Minister M. Bhatti Vikramarka, Ministers N. Uttam Kumar Reddy, D. Sridhar Babu and Jupally Krishna Rao, Rajya Sabha Member Vem Narender Reddy were present.

Engineers from the Irrigation Department explained to the Chief Minister the details of the possible amount of diversion/lift of water to Yellampally project with 152 meters FRL and 150 meters FRL Tummidihatti Barrage. They said that no villages will be submerged in Maharashtra with the construction of the barrage and only 2,300 acres will face submergence at 152 meters FRL and less than 1,000 acres at 150 meters FRL.

The Chief Minister directed the authorities to estimate the submergence in Maharashtra so that the state can be convinced of maximum possible water diversion by Telangana. He told the officials to share all the necessary information required by the Central Water Commission (CWC) after a meeting between the officials of the two states held in Delhi last month.

Stating that the dam was planned to irrigate 2,000 acres of ayacut in the most backward district of Adilabad comprising mostly forests and tribal areas, he expressed hope that those fighting with the slogan “jal, jungle, jameen” would benefit from the project. He told the authorities to focus on the water transfer route and proposals along with land acquisition after the height of the barrage is clarified.

He pointed out that Maharashtra had agreed to 148 meters FRL in the past, but such a barrage from a low height would not allow Telangana to get/divert the expected amount of water. He told the officials to be ready with all technical reports, water availability, extent of submergence to convince Maharashtra to allow 152 meters FRL. He also told the ministers to explain the imperatives of Telangana to help convince Maharashtra for 152 meters FRL.

The Dindi Project

The Chief Minister further instructed officials to ensure pumping of 0.5 tmc ft of water per day to the Dindi project and 0.1 tmc ft per day for the Achampet Lift Irrigation Scheme by making additional arrangements to draw 0.6 tmc ft of water from the Srisailam Reservoir without pumping at a house at IrrigemeRapur in Narrigeme- Schampet at the Lift in Narrigemeapur. affecting the use of PRLIS.

Irrigation Adviser Adityanath Das, CMO Secretary K. Manicka Raj, tunnel expert Col. Parikshit Mehra, Principal Project Engineers and others.

Published – 23 Oct 2026 20:15 IST