Revanth meets Modi, seeks Rs 10,000 cr central aid to complete pending irrigation projects | Hyderabad News
Hyderabad: Chief minister A Revanth Reddy, along with irrigation minister N Uttam Kumar Reddy, on Sunday met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi and sought at least Rs 10,000 crore in central assistance for completing major irrigation projects in Telangana and also to implement a comprehensive groundwater recharge and conservation programme to address the likely impact of El Niño.The Rs 10,000 crore is in addition to Rs 20,000 crore central assistance sought earlier by the Telangana govt to meet the El Niño challenges, especially in the 365 drought-hit mandals.Later, minister Uttam Kumar Reddy addressed a media conference in the national capital and shared the details of the meeting with PM Modi. CM Revanth Reddy invited PM Modi to attend the upcoming ‘Khelo India’ sporting event in the state.Uttam said the CM placed critical irrigation-related demands before PM Modi and sought his personal intervention in securing pending clearances and financial assistance from the Centre.Revanth had specifically sought an additional Rs 5,000 crore under the Special Assistance to States for Capital Investment (SASCI) scheme for 2026-27 to complete major and medium irrigation projects that had already achieved 70-90% physical progress in the state.He pointed out that although the Union budget had announced an allocation of Rs 2 lakh crore under the scheme for capital investment by the states, Telangana had so far received only Rs 1,457 crore. The state had submitted a detailed representation seeking another Rs 5,000 crore, explaining that several irrigation projects were at an advanced stage of completion and required only 10-30% funding to become operational.Revanth Reddy had explained to the Prime Minister the delays in securing environmental clearances for the Palamuru-Rangareddy lift irrigation (LI) scheme, Sitarama Sagar and Dindi LI scheme.“Although Supreme Court had permitted the Union environment ministry to receive and appraise the applications, the process of taking up and examining the proposals had been considerably delayed,” Uttam said.Revanth and Uttam urged the Prime Minister to intervene and direct the concerned ministry to expedite the environmental clearance process, stressing that investments made over several years should not remain unproductive because of administrative delays.On the proposed Tummidihatti barrage across the Pranahita river, they sought the Prime Minister’s intervention in persuading Maharashtra to agree to raising the proposed height from the earlier agreed 148 metres to 152 metres.They also also sought Modi’s intervention in expediting the pending no objection certificate from Chhattisgarh for the Sammakka-Sarakka barrage. Uttam announced that he, along with CM Revanth, is likely to meet the Chhattisgarh CM on Nov 17. The minister said Revanth had also submitted proposals seeking financial assistance under the Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (PMKSY) for the coming financial year. The proposals included Integrated Sitarama Sagar and Sitarama Lift Irrigation Project (Rs 5,183 cr), Modigunta Vagu (Rs 392 cr), Chinna Kaleshwaram project (Rs 171 cr) and Chanaka-Korata barrage (Rs 103 cr). The state had requested the Prime Minister to facilitate the sanctioning of funds for these projects under the central scheme.Highlighting the impact of El Niño on groundwater resources, Revanth Reddy submitted a comprehensive action plan to Modi. He requested special central assistance of Rs 5,000 crore for implementing the programme, which would also be dovetailed with the Viksit Bharat–Guarantee for Rozgar and Aajeevika Mission (Gramin) framework.
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