HYDERABAD

Minister for Irrigation and Civil Supplies N. Uttam Kumar Reddy on Saturday reiterated that the government was committed to complete and operationalise Phase-VI of the Devadula Lift Irrigation Scheme in the present term itself, by December 2028, paving the way to bring Godavari water to Tungaturthi constituency in Suryapet district.

Speaking after hoisting the national flag on the occasion of 80th Independence Day at Suryapet, he said the government was giving high priority for completion and full operationalisation of the Devadula project in over two years time. The government was determined to remove bottlenecks and complete the remaining components so that the huge investments already made in the project could translate into assured irrigation benefits.

The operationalisation of Phase-VI would assume particular importance for Tungaturthi, where agriculture had traditionally depended on rainfall and local water sources. Bringing Godavari water to the constituency would provide a more dependable irrigation source, help stabilise the existing ayacut and create scope for extending irrigation to presently underserved and unserved areas.

The benefits would extend beyond Tungaturthi and integration of Godavari water supply with Suryapet district’s irrigation network would strengthen overall water security, reduce the vulnerability of agriculture during deficient rainfall years and enable better management of available water resources, the Minister said. It would also complement the irrigation benefits available from the Krishna basin systems and local projects.

He stated that Suryapet district presently had an ayacut of about 5.82 lakh acres and the government was pursuing both immediate water management measures and long-term infrastructure development to ensure that the agricultural base was protected and strengthened.

Given the prevailing rainfall and reservoir storage position, drinking water would receive first priority, while the remaining available water would be utilised prudently. Water availability in Nagarjunasagar, SRSP Stage-II, Musi and other systems was being reviewed continuously, he said.

₹2,392 cr irrigation push

Apart from Devadula Phase-VI, the government was taking forward three major irrigation projects involving an investment of about ₹2,392 crore, with the potential to provide irrigation facilities to nearly 77,000 acres, Mr. Uttam Kumar Reddy said.

He explained that the ₹1,649 crore Mahatma Gandhi Muktyala Branch Canal Lift Irrigation Scheme was intended to benefit about 53,000 acres, while the ₹292-crore Jawahar Jampadu Branch Canal would cover another 10,000 acres. The ₹451 crore Rajiv Gandhi Lift Irrigation Scheme was designed to provide irrigation to about 14,000 acres.

Stating that land acquisition and other requirements for these projects were being expedited to accelerate execution, the minister said lift irrigation schemes at Mothe, Redlagunta and Rajiv Shantinagar R-9 were also being pursued. The government had sanctioned ₹396 crore for modernisation of the Nagarjunasagar Left Canal and its associated canal network, while ₹70 crore had been sanctioned for modernisation of the Musi project canals.