HYDERABAD: The state government will soon seek 10 tmc ft (thousand million cubic feet) of water from Karnataka to augment storage in Telangana reservoirs to meet drinking water needs in the summer, irrigation minister N. Uttam Kumar Reddy said on Saturday.
He said a delegation led by Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy would visit Karnataka to discuss the issue. He was speaking with reporters after chairing a review meeting with senior irrigation department officials at Jal Soudha, the department headquarters.
Uttam Kumar Reddy also said that a special drive to clear all tanks and lakes of overgrowth of plants during the summer to clean the beds of water bodies and to clear channels.
Uttam Kumar Reddy also said that the Congress government was committed to providing irrigation to 4.5 lakh to 5 lakh additional acres by the end of this year. The previous BRS government had indulged in largescale wasteful and non-productive expenditure on irrigation projects, and as a consequence, there was an urgent need to focus on creating new ayacut.
The government will prioritise projects that can achieve this goal. “We discussed project costs, and projects that can start supplying water in six months, and those that can do so within a year,” the minister said.
On the Kaleshwaram lift irrigation scheme, Uttam Kumar Reddy said Chief Minister Revanth Reddy had already written to the Telangana High Court Chief Justice seeking a judge to head a judicial commission that will probe all aspects of the project.
With respect to the sinking of the Medigadda barrage, a vigilance probe was already on in the matter and those responsible for what happened at Medigadda will face appropriate action, Uttam Kumar Reddy said.
