Hyderabad: Telangana Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy will inaugurate the Sitarama Lift Irrigation Project built on Godavari river on August 15. After the trial run of three important pump houses in Bhadradri Kothagudem district, Irrigation Minister Uttam Kumar Reddy announced this on Sunday. Uttam Kumar Reddy, Agriculture Minister Tummala Nageswara Rao and Revenue Minister Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy participated in the trial run. After the start of the trial run of the pump houses, the Ministers visited Vira in Khammam district and inspected the arrangements for the public meeting to be addressed by the Chief Minister on August 15 at the inauguration of the project.
Uttam Kumar Reddy said that by August 2026, the Congress government is committed to provide irrigation to every acre under Sitarama project. On August 15, Chief Minister Revanth Reddy announced that he would not only launch this project but also launch a loan waiver scheme of Rs 2 lakh for farmers. This initiative is expected to bring significant relief to the farming community and strengthen government support for agricultural development.
The Irrigation Minister highlighted that the Sitarama project, which was left incomplete by the previous BRS government, has now reached the stage of completion under the Congress regime. He emphasized that as the government is committed to agricultural development, there is a need to speed up the construction work to ensure that every acre gets water. The Sitarama Lift Irrigation Project, which has received full approval from the Godavari River Management Board, will receive 67 TMCs of water from the Godavari River.
Uttam Kumar Reddy emphasized that this allocation is very important so that water reaches every acre under the project by the deadline of August 2026. The project also includes the renaming of Enkur Link Canal as Rajiv Canal. This is crucial in stabilizing irrigation water across the region. The Irrigation Minister emphasized on speeding up the construction of distribution canals and critical infrastructure such as Yathalakunta and Julurupadu tunnels which are crucial to bring Godavari water to Paleru region.
Minister Uttam Kumar Reddy also mentioned the challenges related to railway crossings at specific places. He asked the officials to cooperate with the railway authorities to avoid delay in the construction. He asked the officials to focus on obtaining necessary permissions from the Supreme Court and Ministry of Environment and Forests. He highlighted the need for immediate land acquisition for package 1 and 2 comprising 3,000 acres to meet the project targets on time.
He stated that if these works are completed, irrigation water will be stable for 3.4 lakh acres and an additional 2.6 lakh acres will come under cultivation. The key focus is on immediate acquisition of the remaining 1,658 acres of land required for Project Package 1 and 2.
Minister Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy criticized that there was inefficiency and wasteful expenditure in the previous BRS regime and the cost of the project was increased from Rs.2,400 crores to Rs.18,000 crores under the guise of redesigning.
