DPR on Gundrevula project expected by December: Water resources minister Nimmala
Water Resources Minister Nimmala Ramanaidu has announced that the Gundrevula Project, aimed at providing irrigation and drinking water to the drought-affected western regions of the Kurnool district, also including the Kurnool Municipal Corporation, would be implemented in phases.
Vijayawada:Water Resources Minister Nimmala Ramanaidu has announced that the Gundrevula Project, aimed at providing irrigation and drinking water to the drought-affected western regions of the Kurnool district, also including the Kurnool Municipal Corporation, would be implemented in phases.
“This project, planned on River Tungabhadra, is intended to stabilize 2.65 lakh acres of land. According to revised estimates, the cost of completing this project is `4530 crore, with a new Detailed Project Report (DPR) likely to be submitted by December 24,” the minister told the state assembly on Thursday.
He emphasized the necessity of obtaining consent from neighbouring Karnataka and Telangana states for the reservoir project. “Chief minister Chandrababu Naidu as also Nara Lokesh who conducted the Yuvagalam Padayatra had seen the hardships faced by the local population firsthand. They have given special attention to this Gundrevula project,” he said.
Ramanaidu said the need for focused attention on the western regions of Kurnool has been discussed multiple times in internal meetings of the party.
He stated that when the construction of this reservoir can be completed, it would help alleviate water scarcity in the rain-starved constituencies of Alur, Mantalayam, Emmiganoor, Pattikonda and Kodumur regions of Kurnool district. “As the in-charge minister for the district, I am well aware of the struggles and necessities of the local people,” he said.
Ramanaidu alleged that the previous government neglected the Gundrevula project. “All the injustices committed by the previous government have turned into curses for the present administration. For instance, the irrigation department carries a debt burden of `16,000 crore.”
Alongside repaying these debts, funds would be arranged by CM Chandrababu Naidu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi to complete all the proposed projects in phases, he added.