The State government’s efforts to convince the Centre to confer national project status for its two major lift irrigation projects — Kaleshwaram and Palamuru-Rangareddy — continue to remain unheeded.
The southern zonal council headed by Union Home Minister Amit Shah has deferred its response to the Telangana Government’s request for conferring national project status to Kaleshwaram and Palamuru-Rangareddy lift irrigation projects of the State. The issue figured in the recently-held southern zonal council meeting with the Inter State Council Secretariat placing in the agenda the Telangana Government’s request that the Jal Shakti Ministry be impressed upon to consider conferring National Project status on Kaleshwaram and Palamuru-Rangareddy Lift Irrigation Projects, and provide financial support.
The Andhra Pradesh Government however raised its objections against the Kaleshwaram project. It claimed that increase in the pumping capacity from the originally envisaged 2 tmcft to 3 tmcft a day as also raising the utilisation of water from about 225 tmcft to 450 tmcft by Telangana was unauthorised.
AP Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu wanted the inter-State water disputes especially over rivers like Krishna and Godavari should be resolved holistically on a give and take principle rather than through piecemeal decisions. On the other hand, Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka insisted that the Centre extend financial support to the two projects and confer national status for PRLIS.
He informed the meeting that the Kaleshwaram Project suffered considerable damage and that the rehabilitation and restoration of the Kaleshwaram barrages should be looked into by the Centre. He sought the Centre’s support to complete the remaining works of PRLIS and to make it fully operational.
With the two States firm on their stances, the Union Home Minister directed that the issue be retained for further discussion and that it should be considered together with other water related issues as part of the comprehensive negotiated roadmap proposed to be evolved to resolve inter-State water disputes.
Published – October 12, 2026 03:20 pm IST
