Latest news with #MoJS
The Hindu
24-07-2025
- Politics
- The Hindu
Telangana urges MoJS Secretary not to take up appraisal of PBLP
HYDERABAD The Telangana government has requested the Ministry of Jal Shakti (MoJS) not to undertake appraisal of pre-feasibility report of the Polavaram-Banakacherla Link Project (PBLP) since it is in violation of the Godavari Water Disputes Tribunal Award, Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act and Polavaram Project Authority, infringing upon the water rights of Telangana. When the Environmental Clearance granted to the Polavaram project itself has issues of violation and a case is pending in the Supreme Court, which had directed the Centre on September 6, 2022 to address the issues by calling for a meeting of all the stakeholders, it would not be in the interests of natural justice if appraisal of PBLP is taken up, Principal Secretary (Irrigation) of Telangana Rahul Bojja said in a five-page letter addressed to the MoJS Secretary Debashree Mukherjee. He noted that Telangana Minister for Irrigation Uttam Kumar Redddy had requested Union Minister of Jal Shakti to direct the Central Water Commission to reject the PFR under review and also objected to the stand of Additional Secretary, Ministry of Finance, at the June 2 meeting with the AP officials to submit the detailed project report. Mr. Uttam Reddy also wrote to the Minister of Environment and Forests not to take up the appraisal of PBLP. Besides, letters were also addressed by authorities of the Irrigation Department to MoEF and PPA. Listing out the comments of Telangana on the PFR, the Principal Secretary stated that PBLP contemplates stabilisation of 9.14 lakh hectares (nearly 22.59 lakh acres) and new ayacut of another 3 lakh hectares (over 7.41 lakh acres), all in the Krishna and Penna Basins in Rayalaseema and South Coastal Andhra regions. He brought to the MoJS Secretary's notice that there is no clause in the GWDT Award for allocating floodwater among the basin States. Further, he noted, it is explicitly stated that if there is to be any change in the operation schedule as indicated in the inter-State agreement it shall be made only after consultation with the States of erstwhile AP (now Telangana), Chhattisgarh and Odisha, as the PBLP contemplates diversion of 200 tmcft water from Polavaram project and it would require changes in the operation protocol of the project – changes scope of the project too.
The Hindu
15-07-2025
- Politics
- The Hindu
Uncertainty over Naidu-Revanth meet as Telangana objects to Banakacherla in agenda
Uncertainty prevails over the scheduled meeting between the Chief Ministers of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh at the behest of Jal Shakti Minister C.R. Patil in New Delhi on Wednesday following strong objection raised by Telangana over the agenda fixed for the meeting — to discuss the Polavaram-Banakacherla Link Project proposed by A.P. In a letter addressed to MoJS Secretary Debashree Mukherjee in response to the meeting notice, Chief Secretary K. Ramakrishna Rao mentioned that Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy and Minister for Irrigation N. Uttam Kumar Reddy had repeatedly communicated Telangana's objections to the project proposed by A.P. They had been clearly stating that the A.P.'s proposal violates the Godavari Water Disputes Tribunal (GWDT) Award as also the A.P. Reorganisation Act. It also lacks statutory clearances from the Central Water Commission, Godavari and Krishna River Management Boards and the Apex Council. The pre-feasibility report submitted by A.P. contains critical data gaps and methodological deficiencies, particularly on water availability assumptions and technical feasibility, the Chief Secretary said in his letter. Further, the expert appraisal committee of the Ministry of Environment and Forest had returned the project proposal citing violations of legal and procedural aspects and the GRMB had observed that diversion of 200 tmc ft water from Polavaram for the proposed project would change scope as well as operation schedule of the Polavaram project, which already has unresolved submergence issues in Odisha, Chhattisgarh and Telangana. Stating that the AP's proposal would undermine the rights of Telangana in Godavari water, he urged the MoJS Secretary to direct CWC to reject the pre-feasibility report of Banalacherla project, prevent A.P. from submitting detailed project report, stop finalising tenders and not to discuss/approve at any forum/by any agency. He also cited the objections raised by the Polavaram Project Authority, GRMB, CWC and EAC of MoEF on A.P.'s proposal. The Chief Secretary, however, welcomed the initiative of the MoJS to convene a meeting to sort out the other outstanding issues, provided the meeting agenda is revised by including the issues raised by Telangana in another letter such as clearance to Godavari Basin projects based on assured water and issues in the Krishna Basin — clearances to the projects proposed in Telangana by the erstwhile A.P.
New Indian Express
25-04-2025
- Business
- New Indian Express
TAC approves Sitarama lift irrigation, Sitamma Sagar projects for Telangana
HYDERABAD: The 158th meeting of the Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) of the Ministry of Jal Shakti (MoJS) on Thursday cleared the much-awaited Integrated Sitarama lift irrigation and Sitamma Sagar multipurpose project, bringing to fruition a long-cherished dream of farmers in Telangana. The project, set to utilise 67.05 tmcft of water, aims to irrigate 7.87 lakh acres and provide drinking water through lift irrigation using 11 pump houses with a total load of 757 MW. It will benefit Bhadradri Kothagudem, Khammam and Mahbubabad districts. The TAC meeting was chaired by MoJS Secretary Debashree Mukherjee, with Central Water Commission (CWC) Chairman Mukesh Kumar Sinha and other senior officials in attendance. The committee deliberated on the Detailed Project Report (DPR) of the Integrated Sitarama Lift Irrigation Project (SRLIP) and Sitamma Sagar Multipurpose Project and recommended it for approval, an official said. State irrigation officials, including Principal Secretary Rahul Bojja, Engineer-in-Chief (General) G Anil Kumar, Kothagudem SE Srinivas Reddy, Godavari Board Deputy Director S Subramayam Prasad, and Inter-State SE Salla Vijaykumar, participated in the meeting. An official present at the meeting described the approval as a significant milestone for Telangana. As of January, 57% of the project works had been completed with an expenditure of Rs 11,320 crore. The project is expected to be completed by the Rabi season of 2026. It has a Benefit-Cost (BC) ratio of 1.57, indicating strong economic viability. The multipurpose project is designed to enhance agricultural productivity and improve livelihoods by stabilising the ayacut under Nagarjuna Sagar Project, Wyra, Paleru and several minor irrigation schemes. It may be recalled that the 157th TAC meeting had withheld approval, citing the need for the Central Water Commission to further study the project designs in light of the structural issues at the Medigadda barrage. This time, the CWC director vetted the project in detail, paving the way for its clearance. The Telangana Irrigation officials coordinated closely with various CWC directorates, providing all required technical information and responding to objections raised by the Andhra Pradesh government. Key features Barrage length: 1,332.75 metres Flood discharge mechanism: 67 radial gates (55 vents of 15m x 15m and 12 vents of 15m x 16m) Storage capacity: 36.57 tmcft at a Full Reservoir Level (FRL) of 63 metres Hydropower generation: 282.80 MW (seven units of 40 MW and one unit of 2.8 MW) Total approved cost of the project: Rs 19,955 crore (at June 2023 price levels), which includes Rs 927 crore for the hydropower component
