Telangana’s SOS to Centre: Stop Karnataka from acquiring land for raising Almatti Dam level

Hyderabad: Pushing for speedy clearances for irrigation projects, Telangana’s Irrigation and Civil Supplies Minister Capt N Uttam Kumar has urged the central government to use its influence to stop Karnataka from proceeding with land acquisition related to raising the Almatti Dam level.

Reddy met Jal Shakti Minister C R Patil and Central Water Commission Chairman Atul Jain in New Delhi on Tuesday.

Stalled Projects and Cost Overruns

Minister Reddy submitted a detailed representation, highlighting that the delay in project appraisals and procedural clearances for schemes in the Krishna and Godavari basins is severely impacting the State's drought-prone regions, leading to significant cost escalations and time overruns.

Palamuru-Rangareddy Lift Irrigation Scheme (PRLIS): The Minister called for immediate clearance for PRLIS, which is based on the reallocation of 90 TMC of assured waters. He noted that the Detailed Project Report (DPR) and subsequent clarifications have been with the CWC since May 2025, and the prolonged delay is denying essential irrigation to arid districts.

Sammakka Sarakka (Sammakka Sagar) Project: Reddy also sought immediate appraisal for this project, stating that Telangana has submitted the DPR and replies to all technical comments.

KWDT-II Delays: He appealed to the Ministry to advise the Krishna Water Disputes Tribunal-II (KWDT-II) to expedite its hearings. The statutory clearances for several ongoing Telangana projects, originally based on KWDT-I surplus water permissions, are currently bottlenecked, awaiting the Tribunal's final award on water apportionment between Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.

Objection to Andhra Pradesh’s PBLP

A significant part of the discussion focused on Telangana’s strong objections to the Polavaram-Banakacherla Link Project (PBLP) proposed by Andhra Pradesh.

Reliance on 'Flood Waters': Telangana argued that AP's proposal relies on "flood waters," which Minister Reddy asserted is not a legal basis for project viability under national guidelines (75% dependability) or the Planning Commission's (now NITI Aayog) 2010 DPR guidelines. The Godavari Water Disputes Tribunal (GWDT) Award also contains no provision for this type of floodwater diversion.

Inter-State Concerns: The Minister pointed out that Maharashtra and Karnataka have also formally objected to the PBLP. Maharashtra questioned the CWC’s guidelines for flood-based appraisal, while Karnataka stated its intention to utilise an additional 112 TMC of Krishna water instead of the Godavari diversion proposed by PBLP.

Demand for Restraint: Reddy urged the Ministry to restrain the CWC and all statutory agencies from examining or processing the PBLP in any form, citing that the project is fundamentally flawed and would severely harm Telangana’s downstream irrigation interests.

Almatti Dam Height Dispute

Uttam Kumar Reddy raised serious objections to the Karnataka Government's G.O. dated 9 October 2025 for land acquisition at the Almatti Dam up to the +524.256 metres level.

He warned that the move violates the Supreme Court’s stay order prohibiting Karnataka from increasing the dam height to that level.

He requested the Ministry to immediately stop Karnataka from any related activities, reiterating that raising the dam height would pose a direct threat to the assured Krishna River flows reaching Telangana’s projects and cause irreversible harm to its water allocation.

Plea for PMKSY-AIBP Approvals

The Minister also sought approval for seven major Telangana proposals submitted under the PMKSY-AIBP for the 2026-2031 period. He noted that four projects—Mukteshwar LIS, Chanaka-Korata, Modikuntavagu, and Sitamma Sagar—have already been found techno-economically viable by the Advisory Committee, with investment clearance proposals filed with the Ministry.

Minister Reddy concluded by stressing that timely intervention from the Union Minister is essential to resolve all pending issues, expedite clearances, and provide water security to the State's drought-prone, backward, and tribal regions.