Kaleshwaram Project: Irrigation officials, NDSA play blame game on sinking of piers of Medigadda Barrage

Hyderabad: The Kaleshwaram project has become a bureaucratic tussle between officials of the Telangana State Irrigation Department and the National Dam Safety Authority (NDSA). Telangana irrigation officials are accusing the officials of NDSA of drawing conclusions on the condition of the dam without considering complete evidence and data.

While jointly acknowledging that the piers of Medigadda Barrage (Lakshmi Barrage) have shown signs of sinking, officials of both departments continue to ‘blame each other’, said a senior engineer in Hyderabad. In a bid to outdo each other, the officials are indulging in ‘calling out’ each other, he said.

“The project has raised the aspirations of people of Telangana for water which has led to better agriculture and increased access to drinking water. At the same time, the environmental damage to the Godavari River in terms of destruction of mangroves and change in land usage cannot be ruled out. The lift irrigation dam has long-term costs and these will affect the socio-political aspirations of people,” the senior engineer said.

What is the clash about?

Dr Rajat Kumar, special chief secretary to government (Irrigation) has written a letter to Sanjay Kumar Sibal, chairman of NDSA, that the NDSA has come to a conclusion on the issue without taking into account all the documents submitted by the State government.

Telangana officials, in a letter submitted on November 4 to the NDSA, stated that 20 documents were asked from them and 11 were submitted first. Later, on November 1, the rest of the documents were submitted to NDSA. But before that, the NDSA came to its conclusions, the officials said.

Contradictory conclusions

Telangana officials stated that the conclusions given by the NDSA on Medigadda Barrage are without proper investigation. Highlighting some of the issues with the NDSA investigation, Dr Rajat Kumar said,

- Proper investigation of the foundation and other related structures, which are underwater now, must be done.

- A coffer dam is under construction to divert the water and after that proper inspections can be done.

- Once proper investigation is completed we would like to assess the reasons for the sinking piers.

The letter by Telangana officials stated that till all these points are covered, they will be ‘unable to agree with the conclusions’ of the NDSA.

Pre-monsoon inspection

Medigadda, Annaram and Sundilla barrages were included under the Kaleshwaram project in the List of Specified Dams only on July 12, 2023. There was back-and-forth correspondence between NDSA and the Telangana government on the height, foundation and other technical details of the dam. Due to the official listing being done in July, the pre-monsoon inspection was not done. The post-monsoon inspection was scheduled for November 2023.

The expert committee did not visit the Annaram and Sundilla barrages and the comments given in the report are unsubstantiated, stated the Telangana officials.

Kaleshwaram project, a crucial election issue

The incidents of piers sinking during the high-octane election campaign has given the Opposition parties, Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party, substantial reasons to call out the ruling Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS), alleging corruption and inefficiency in the project.

While the Kaleshwaram project has increased agriculture production, improved groundwater level by 7 meters, and increased aqua production, it is yet to be seen if these benefits are sustainable in the long run considering the expenditure made on the project.

These points are now on the table. Along with the technical issues, the state also has to consider the socio-economic-political impact the project will have on the state.