Miryalguda (Nalgonda): At a recent meeting in Nalgonda district, Irrigation Minister Uttam Kumar Reddy spoke about the major steps taken by the Congress government to improve the state’s irrigation system and support farmers.
Uttam said the Irrigation Department had weakened over the past 15 years, but the current government is working to rebuild it. Since taking office, they have hired 1,100 engineers and 1,800 support staff through outsourcing to boost the department’s strength.
This year, the Telangana government set aside a massive ₹23,000 crore in the state budget specifically for irrigation. Uttam called this a top priority.
He shared updates on several key projects. The long-pending Kandamall project has resumed, and work on the Udayasamudram project is moving quickly. The goal, he said, is to deliver maximum irrigation benefits with minimal costs in a short time.
Uttam criticized the former government for mismanaging irrigation funds. He pointed out that ₹94,000 crore was spent on the Kaleshwaram Project, which he claimed did not serve Telangana's interests. He also noted that major projects like SLBC, Devadula, Palamuru-Ranga Reddy, Kalwakurthy, Nettempadu, and Bhima remain incomplete, despite spending ₹1.81 lakh crore over the past decade.
However, under the Congress administration, 68 TMCs of water from the Godavari River have been successfully allocated to irrigation projects.
Speaking on agriculture, Uttam said paddy procurement is going smoothly across the state. Since the Congress came to power, Telangana has become the top paddy-producing state in the country. He urged officials to stay alert and ensure every grain of the Yasangi (Rabi) crop is collected.
He also highlighted a major welfare initiative. Telangana now provides 6 kg of fine rice for free each month to about 80–84% of the population. The government spends around ₹13,000 crore annually on this food security scheme.
The meeting was attended by several key leaders, including Komatireddy Venkat Reddy, Legislative Council Chairman Gutha Sukender Reddy, MPs Kunduru Raghavendra Reddy and Chamala Kiran Kumar Reddy, MLAs Bathula Laxma Reddy, Rajagopal Reddy, Jai Veer Reddy, Balu Naik, and MLCs Shankar Naik and Nellikanti Satyam. Senior officials were also present during the discussions.
