Govt. committed to completion of pending irrigation projects, says Chief Minister

The Hindu

14-05-2025

Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy has asserted that his government is committed to completing the pending irrigation projects in Telangana and steps are being taken in this direction.
The government has, accordingly, prioritised SLBC, Sitarama, Devadula, Nettempadu, Sammakka-Sarakka and other projects for speedy completion. 'The government is working with commitment to complete the pending irrigation projects to harness the irrigation potential in the interests of the people,' he said.
The Chief Minister was speaking after distributing appointment letters to newly appointed assistant executive engineers and other officers of the Irrigation department on Wednesday. He described the job in the Irrigation department as an 'emotion' not merely employment and said political parties gained benefits using the emotion. He recalled how the government had recruited personnel for 1,161 posts in the department since it took over the reins and said equitable share in water was one of the main objectives behind the separate statehood movement.
Mr. Revanth Reddy wondered why the irrigation projects remained pending despite spending ₹ 2 lakh crore since the formation of Telangana in 2014. 'Why are the projects incomplete 10 years after the State formation? Who have benefitted from the amounts released?' he questioned, exhorting intellectuals and employees to review the developments over the past decade of the BRS rule.
The Chief Minister recalled how the Congress, under former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, prioritised irrigation and constructed major projects which were not disturbed by calamities. But the Kaleshwaram project which was conceived and completed by the previous government collapsed in three years. 'The Kaleshwaram project which involved investment of ₹1 lakh crore did not provide irrigation to at least 50,000 acres. It is the only project in the world which collapsed within three years of its construction,' he said.
The project was a lesson on how not to construct a project that would entail severe losses. This could be seen from the fact that the previous government had not conducted soil testing before taking up construction of Medigadda, Annaram and Sundilla barrages. 'This is because of an individual who claims to have read 80,000 books and turned himself into an engineer,' he said.
There should be clear demarcation of duties in every field. 'Engineers should discharge their duties and politicians theirs. Engineers should work with discretion as they will be at loss if they listen to advices of politicians with limited knowledge,' he said, expressing concern over the safety of projects taken up during the previous government because of the lopsided policies.
Mr. Revanth Reddy said people knew whose negligence resulted in the SLBC project remaining incomplete over the last decade and said the government should take adequate care in the construction of projects. Referring to the Group-I appointments, he said he was aware of the political leaders who were creating obstacles in the recruitment process. The government was, however, committed to overcome the hurdles and complete the recruitment process soon.