Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy has stressed the need to quickly finish important irrigation projects across the state. He told officials to focus on completing projects that can provide water for irrigation in the next six months. This will help farmers get water in time for the next farming season.
In a meeting, CM Reddy explained that just setting aside money for projects is not helpful if they aren’t completed. He said that if 75 percent of the identified projects are finished, it will greatly increase the amount of land that can be used for farming in the next season.
The Chief Minister also asked the finance department to make sure funding for these important projects is always available. He suggested using a special system to speed up payments for projects in the Godavari and Krishna river basins, which will help more people get access to water quickly.
CM Reddy urged officials to solve any problems that are delaying these projects. He talked about issues with paying the electricity department and said that different departments need to work together better. To fix this, he suggested holding joint meetings that include the Irrigation Department, Transco, Genco, and Discom.
He also asked for better coordination with the revenue department to speed up the process of acquiring land for these projects. He instructed the departments to come up with action plans based on what they discuss in their meetings, to ensure fast progress.
The Chief Minister made a special request to irrigation engineers, asking them to spend more time in the field, rather than sitting in offices. He reminded them how important their work is for the four crore people of Telangana and said that humanity should guide the land acquisition process through discussions with landowners.
CM Reddy also held a video conference with Superintending Engineers (SEs) from all districts. He encouraged them to look at successful practices from other states like Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, and Maharashtra, and see if those ideas could be used in Telangana’s irrigation projects.
Finally, Irrigation Principal Secretary Rahul Bojja shared that a recent study found that 25 percent of silt and sand has built up in many state projects. CM Reddy told officials to review their plans for managing silt before following a national policy to solve this problem.
