Hyderabad: The Narayanpet-Kodangal Lift Irrigation (NKLI) project, a dream initiative by Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy, has received a positive nod from the central government. The Union Ministry of Environment and Forests has issued Terms of Reference (ToR) for environmental clearances. This lift irrigation scheme aims to provide water to irrigate 100,000 acres in the former Mahbubnagar district. Before construction begins, the government will prepare an Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) and Environment Management Plan (EMP).
The ToR notification highlights analysis of daily water inflow data at the Jurala dam from 2001 to 2025. This analysis checked how many days each year the inflow exceeded 12,500 cusecs. At 75% reliability, the inflow surpasses 12,500 cusecs for about 50 days annually. The NKLI scheme needs 49 days to lift 7.10 TMC of water, meaning the water supply needs can be met.
The irrigation plan includes 75% surface irrigation and 25% micro-irrigation. Crops like chillies, cotton, maize, groundnut, sunflower, red gram, and vegetables will be grown. Paddy will not be part of this project as it is cultivated in minor irrigation tanks.
The EIA report will identify environmental concerns and potential impacts from the project’s construction. Data collected over three seasons—pre-monsoon, monsoon, and winter—will help analyze the current environment and its capacity to handle the project’s impact. Mitigation measures to minimize impact will be suggested based on this analysis.
State officials mentioned that Rs 4,500 crore has been recently sanctioned for the project.
