Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao today instructed the engineers of the water resources department to expedite the completion of two major Lift Irrigation Schemes (LIS) in the state.
The CM convened a review meeting with the officials where he asked them to complete the Dindi LIS in the next six months and the Palamuru-Rangareddy LIS by the end of 2021.
He assured the officials that the works would not get delayed by any paucity of funds as the government would allocate sufficient money into both the projects in the budget for the next fiscal year.
At the meeting, the CM also asked Principal Secretary (Finance) K Ramakrishna Rao to release Rs 2,000 crore immediately to clear the dues of the Palamuru-Rangareddy and Dindi projects in a bid to speed up their completion.
Further, he asked the district Collectors of Nagarkurnool, Nalgonda and Rangareddy to work on compensating those who would lose their lands to the two projects.
"Please ensure that those whose lands are being acquired for the two LIS projects receive the adequate compensation in a speedy and hassle-free manner," the CM said.
The two projects, on their completion, will provide water for irrigation and drinking to the rain-starved areas of Mahabubnagar and Nalgonda.
"The projects will convert about 10 lakh acres in the two districts into irrigated lands. Currently, the farmers of the districts are able to raise crops only in about 7 lakh to 8 lakh acres. However, with the quick completion of the projects, this will no longer be the case," KCR said.
"The Palamuru-Rangareddy project officials should focus on completing the works of the Narlapur Reservoir, the pump house, the Narlapur-Edula Canal, the Edula Pump House, the Edula-Vattem Canal, the Vattem reservoir, the Vattem-Karvena Canal, the Karvena Reservoir, the Karvena-Uddandapur Canal and the tunnel at the earliest," he added.
The TRS government has, in the recent past, taken many steps to resolve the problem of water shortage in the state. Earlier this month, it even launched a
free drinking water scheme for the people residing in the GHMC area.