Hyderabad, June 18 (NSS): Former minister and Congress MLC T. Jeevan Reddy on Tuesday alleged that CM KCR was making efforts to lose the national Irrigation project status to Kaleswaram lift irrigation project. He made it clear that the national project status was the right of the people of the State.
Addressing media persons at Gandhi Bhavan here today, Jeevan Reddy said the hype created by the State government around the Kaleswaram project would cause loss to the public money. He said the construction of lifts at Medigadda and Annaram would put leave huge burden on the people of the State. He alleged that the State government had increased the budget estimates of the project by Rs 45,000 crore from Rs 38,000 crore to Rs 93,000 crore to create additional ayacut of 1.4 lakh acres.
He said the Kaleswaram project would have irrigated 16.5 lakh acres by spending Rs 38,000 crore, which was prepared by the previous Congress government in undivided Andhra Pradesh. He also said the project would have come into use had the State government completed Thammidigattu barrage. He said the Yellampally barrage and its affiliated canals had already been completed.
Former minister Nagam Janardhan Reddy ridiculed Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao for taking credit for the agreement reached with Maharashtra by reducing the Kaleswaram project height to 148 meters instead of the actual 152 meters. He alleged that KCR had failed to convince his Maharashtra counterpart about the loss of 1800 acres due to the project.
TPCC Vice President Mallu Ravi demanded that the State government start the works of Palamuru Ranga Reddy Lift Irrigation Project at the earliest. He warned the State government that his party would launch a Statewide agitation if the farmers were not given suitable compensation to the affected farmers. (NSS)
