District Collector Anudeep Durishetty urged officials to quickly finish the land acquisition for the Sitarama Lift Irrigation Project. He stressed the urgency to complete this on a fast track to keep the project on schedule.
During a meeting at the Collectorate on Friday, Durishetty, along with Additional Collector P Srinivas Reddy and Kalluru Division Sub-Collector Ajay Yadav, assessed the project’s progress with officials from the irrigation, revenue, and forest departments.
Durishetty emphasized the project is crucial as it will irrigate over 700,000 acres. He insisted on solving land and forest clearance issues immediately. He promised swift compensation with help from the Deputy Chief Minister and other ministers. “The goal is to release water through Yathalakunta by January,” he noted. This will allow Godavari waters to reach the Sathupalli constituency.
The Collector issued clear instructions: Khammam district needs 507 acres of forest land compensated with alternative land. For Package 13, 167 acres of patta land for a 10-km canal requires awards and compensation within a month.
In Package 14, the public notification process should see awards passed in three months, with 6 acres acquired within a week. Package 16 land acquisition must finish in seven days.
Officials were told to finalize proposals for canal land acquisition throughout Khammam. Special survey teams should complete the canal land survey in 20 days using extra staff. Durishetty stated the Sitarama project will be reviewed every 15 days to maintain oversight.
