Hyderabad: The Central Government has turned down Telangana’s request to give national project status to the Palamuru-Rangareddy lift irrigation scheme. The main reason is an ongoing legal dispute between Telangana and Andhra Pradesh over sharing Krishna river water.
This was revealed in the Lok Sabha when Bhongir MP Chama Kiran Kumar Reddy asked about the issue. Union Minister of State for Jal Shakti, Raj Bhushan Chaudhary, said the proposal had been sent back to the Telangana government. He explained that because the case is still being heard by the Supreme Court and the Krishna Water Disputes Tribunal-II, the government cannot review the project’s technical and economic details right now.
Telangana had first submitted the request in September 2022 to the Central Water Commission. But in December 2024, the Central Government officially returned the proposal, once again pointing to the court case as the main problem.
The Palamuru-Rangareddy lift irrigation scheme is important for Telangana. It is designed to provide irrigation and drinking water to areas of the state that often face drought. The Centre’s refusal to grant national project status may lead to more debate between Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, as the Krishna water-sharing issue remains unsettled.
