Bhadadri-Kothagudem: Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka has accused the previous BRS government of squandering public funds under the guise of redesigning the Sitaramasagar project. During a six-hour inspection of the project, he claimed that despite the BRS government spending Rs 8,000 crore over nine-and-a-half years, the project failed to provide irrigation to even a single acre.
Accompanied by irrigation minister N. Uttam Kumar Reddy, revenue minister Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy, and agriculture minister Tummala Nageswara Rao, Bhatti inspected various components of the project, including its cross regulator, pump houses at Kothur and Pusugudem, and the canal.
Officials from the irrigation department made a presentation of the project's key features.
In a subsequent review meeting with irrigation officials, Bhatti criticised the BRS government's handling of the project. He noted that the Rajivsagar and Indirasagar projects could have been completed at a cost of `2,654 crore. Instead, the BRS government renamed them as the Sitaramasagar project, inflating its estimated cost to Rs 20,000 crore. Despite the substantial expenditure, no irrigation facilities were delivered, he alleged.
Bhatti said the Congress government was committed to completing all pending projects. The state government has sanctioned Rs 72 crore for the nine-km-long Enkoor link canal, connecting the Nagarjunasagar left canal to the Sitaramasagar project. This canal would be named the Rajiv canal. He added that work for the trial run of pumps was underway.
Irrigation minister N. Uttam Kumar Reddy condemned the previous BRS government's irrigation policies, attributing financial difficulties in the sector to their mismanagement. He claimed that thousands of crores were wasted on ineffective irrigation projects, leaving Telangana burdened with debt due to visionless planning.
Uttam Kumar Reddy highlighted that the BRS government spent Rs 90,400 crore on the Kaleshwaram lift irrigation scheme, which provided irrigation to only 93,000 acres. Similarly, despite an expenditure of Rs 27,000 crore on the Palamuru-Rangareddy lift irrigation scheme, no irrigation facilities were delivered. He accused the BRS government of failing to complete a single irrigation project during its tenure.
Uttam Kumar Reddy said the Congress government plans to bring Godavari water to Khammam district to meet irrigation needs, signalling a commitment to resolving the region's water issues.
