Telangana’s rightful Krishna Basin share wasted due to the BRS regime’s inaction, says Uttam

Irrigation Minister criticizes previous regime for mismanagement, incomplete reservoirs, and unutilized water storage capacity in Telangana.

Irrigation Minister N. Uttam Kumar Reddy launched a scathing attack on the previous BRS regime, accusing it of colossal mismanagement in the irrigation sector and leaving behind incomplete reservoirs and lift irrigation schemes, depriving Telangana of its rightful Krishna Basin share.

In a statement, he said that despite spending a staggering Rs 1.81 lakh crore, the BRS government failed to complete crucial projects, leaving 103 TMC of water storage capacity unutilised in Nalgonda and Mahbubnagar districts.

“Where did all this money go? Why are reservoirs still incomplete? Their inefficiency and corruption have led to this mess,” he said, assuring that the Congress government would clean up the damage and deliver results.

He said among the biggest failures of the BRS regime is the Palamuru-Rangareddy Lift Irrigation Scheme (PRLIS), which has the potential to store 67.52 TMC but remains non-operational. The key reservoirs under PRLIS, still awaiting completion, include: Anjanagiri Reservoir: 6.40 TMC, Veernam Palli Reservoir: 6.55 TMC, Venkatadri Reservoir: 16.74 TMC, Kurumurthyraya Reservoir: 19.00 TMC, Udandapur Reservoir: 16.03 TMC and KP Laxmidevipally Reservoir: 2.80 TMC.

The Srisailam Right Bank Dindi Lift Irrigation Scheme (SRVR Dindi LIS) has 25.64 TMC of potential storage, but instead of completing it, the BRS government sat on the project while making false promises. The incomplete reservoirs under this scheme include Pothireddy Palli: 0.225 TMC, Singarajpally Reservoir (Offline): 0.81 TMC, Gottimukala Reservoir (Offline): 1.839 TMC, Irwin Reservoir (Online): 0.553 TMC, Yerrapalli-Gokavaram Reservoir (Online): 7.182 TMC, Dindi Reservoir (Existing): 2.468 TMC, Thintapally Reservoir (Offline): 0.91 TMC, Kistarampally Balancing Reservoir (Online): 5.686 TMC and Shivannagudem Balancing Reservoir (Online): 11.968 TMC.

The AMRSLBC project, which could add 9.848 TMC to Telangana’s irrigation potential, was also neglected. This includes Dindi Balancing Reservoir: 7.648 TMC and Pendlipakala Balancing Reservoir: 2.200 TMC.