Uttam: Telangana Will Revive KLIS By ’28
Steering Committee formed to spearhead rehabilitation of programme
Hyderabad: The state government intends to get the damaged Annaram and Sundilla barrages of the Kaleshwaram lift irrigation scheme (KLIS) by 2028, and the Medigadda barrage a year later. Against this backdrop, irrigation minister N. Uttam Kumar Reddy on Sunday directed officials and design consultants to fast-track the rehabilitation works to restore the project to full operational status under a time bound programme.
The minister announced the constitution of a high-powered steering committee with tunnelling expert Col Parikshit Mehra as convener to oversee the implementation of rehabilitation works. The committee will meet twice a week with the minister joining in whenever required to review the progress. An officer will be deployed to monitor the progress daily.
Uttam Kumar Reddy, speaking at a review meeting on the rehabilitation of KLIS barrages, told key officials of the department, representatives of the Central Water and Power Research Station (CWPRS), agencies tasked with rehabilitation designs and implementation agencies including L&T, that the fundamental problems are identical across the three structures.
The minister said that the next two working seasons should be treated crucial in the process of completing the KLIS repairs. He expressed hope that Annaram and Sundilla could be fully completed within the timeline set for the purpose, while Medigadda can be made at least partially operational simultaneously.
The government has finalised the design consultant AFRY India to work in a joint venture with IIT Mumbai for the purpose. “We need the design as early as possible,” he told the consultant, stating that the designs would have to be sent to the Central Water Commission (CWC) for approval. He asked government adviser Adityanath Das to coordinate with the CWC to get approvals needed from the Centre.
The CWPRS, Pune, a government of India organisation, tasked with performing tests and studies at the barrage sites, has been asked to treat the KLIS rehabilitation as its topmost priority. CWPRS personnel must be stationed at the sites continuously until the 45-day testing window is completed.
The National Dam Safety Authority (NDSA) has flagged serious defects in the foundations, design, planning and execution of all three barrages. The NDSA in its final report cited serious design and construction deficiencies, including inadequate geotechnical investigations and ‘substandard’ quality control.
The Congress government’s recent shift in stance on the Kaleshwaram project, particularly its decision to expedite repairs to three barrages, has raised eyebrows. On April 9, Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy directed officials to complete tests and sample collection being conducted by the Central Water and Power Research Station before the onset of monsoon.
Time and again the BRS leaders, including K.T. Rama Rao and T. Harish Rao, have accused the Congress of wasting over two years in the name of investigations while the project remained stalled. There are suspicions that the latest government over the KLIS barrages was a diversionary move.
