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The Telangana Government has taken the initiative of holding discussions with Maharashtra on the finalisation of the height and construction of the Tummidihatti Barrage. Chief Minister Revanth Reddy has written a letter to his Maharashtra counterpart Devendra Fadnavis and requested to finalize a schedule for talks with a delegation led by him from the Telangana government.
According to an official release, as part of the Dr. B.R. Ambedkar Pranahita-Chevella Sujala Sravanthi Project, the State Government was proposing to construct a barrage at Tummidihatti. Initially, it was intended to construct the barrage at a height of 152 meters. During an Inter-State Board meeting held on August 23, 2016, the Maharashtra government agreed to the construction of the barrage at Tummidihatti at a height of 148 meters. The Maharashtra government also assured that it would extend cooperation in obtaining the necessary clearances. Following the state government's decision to expedite the completion of the Pranahita-Chevella Project, the government reviewed the issue by holding a series of meetings with top officials and irrigation experts recently. Based on the expert advice, the government concluded that an FRL (Full Reservoir Level) of 148 meters would be insufficient to meet the water requirements of North Telangana. Consequently, CM Revanth Reddy mentioned in the letter to the Maharashtra chief minister that a fresh round of discussion on the height of the Tummudihatti barrage is important to address the irrigation and drinking water needs of Adilabad, Nizamabad, Karimnagar, and Medak districts. Further, the CM explained that the impact of submergence in Maharashtra would remain minimal even if the FRL slightly exceeded 148 meters, and it is considered the same. It would be easy to bring water to Telangana through gravity if, after the FRL increased, the Chief Minister asserted. Earlier, Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy instructed the Irrigation officials to start preparations to hold talks with Maharashtra seeking permission to construct the barrage at a height of 150 meters, according to the release. State Irrigation Minister N Uttam Kumar Reddy was assigned to write a letter to Union Minister G. Kishan Reddy to facilitate solving the issue in consultation with Maharashtra expeditiously. At a high-level meeting, the officials and irrigation experts suggested that constructing the Tummidihatti barrage at a height of 150 meters would enable the utilisation of at least 100 TMCs of water and fulfil the interests of Telangana, as stated in the release. The authorities said that Maharashtra had already agreed to the construction of the barrage at a height of 148 meters. Engineering experts noted that building the barrage at 152 meters would result in more submergence in Maharashtra territory, and hence, the height of 150 meters would help to draw water at a lower cost. In the PowerPoint presentation, the officials brought to the attention of the CM key aspects such as the optimal height for constructing the barrage and the volume of water that could be utilised based on different construction heights. The Irrigation officials also apprised the Chief Minister that the government spent approximately Rs 11,000 crore on the Pranahita-Chevella project, and canal construction has been completed in several areas. 71.5 kilometres of canal work have already been executed. (ANI)
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