HYDERABAD

Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy has written to his Maharashtra counterpart Devendra Fadnavis seeking a meeting to finalise the height and construction modalities of the proposed Tummidihatti barrage under the B.R. Ambedkar Pranahita-Chevella Sujala Sravanthi Project.

With the Telangana government deciding to expedite the Pranahita–Chevella project, a series of review meetings were recently held with senior officials and irrigation experts. Based on expert opinion, the government concluded that an FRL of 148 metres would not be sufficient to meet the irrigation and drinking water requirements of north Telangana.

In his letter, Mr. Revanth Reddy requested Mr. Fadnavis to fix a convenient schedule for talks with a Telangana delegation led by him to discuss the finalisation of the barrage height.

The Telangana government is proposing to construct the barrage across the Pranahita river, a tributary of the Godavari, at Tummidihatti village in Koutala mandal of Kumram Bheem Asifabad district, which shares a border with Maharashtra.

Initially, the barrage was proposed at a height of 152 metres. However, during an Inter-State Board meeting held on August 23, 2016, the Maharashtra government agreed to the construction of the barrage at a Full Reservoir Level (FRL) of 148 metres and assured cooperation in securing the required clearances.

Mr. Revanth Reddy stated in the letter that fresh discussions on the height of the Tummidihatti barrage were necessary to address the water needs of the erstwhile Adilabad, Nizamabad, Karimnagar and Medak districts.

The Chief Minister also conveyed that the extent of submergence in Maharashtra would remain minimal even if the FRL marginally exceeded 148 metres. He asserted that increasing the FRL would facilitate the supply of water to Telangana through gravity.