Congress Government Revives Pranahita-Chevella Project, Labour Minister Blames BRS for Undermining Irrigation Scheme

Hyderabad: The Congress government is working to revive the long-stalled Pranahita-Chevella irrigation project, with Labour and Mines Minister Dr G Vivek Venkataswamy on Friday levelling sharp criticism at the previous BRS regime for deliberately undermining the scheme.

During a visit to the Tummidihatti project site alongside Minister Jupally Krishna Rao, Venkataswamy alleged that the earlier BRS government had weakened the initiative to benefit from the competing Kaleshwaram project. He claimed that the Kaleshwaram undertaking was pursued primarily to generate commissions rather than serve public interest.

The ministers performed Jalaharathi ceremonies in the Pranahita river and subsequently addressed journalists at the site.

According to Venkataswamy, the government has already invested approximately ₹1,100 crore in the Pranahita-Chevella project, with substantial portions of the work already completed. He indicated that an additional ₹25,000 crore in funding would have been sufficient to finish the entire project.

The minister traced the project's history, recalling that former Union minister Kaka Venkataswamy had been a strong advocate for the initiative to meet irrigation and drinking water demands in North Telangana's districts. Former Chief Minister YS Rajasekhar Reddy subsequently laid the foundation stone, while the Kiran Kumar Reddy government had agreed to establish the project height at 152 metres.

At that proposed height, Venkataswamy noted, only 5,000 acres in neighbouring Maharashtra would have faced submergence, with compensation requirements estimated at around ₹5,000 crore.

However, he alleged that the BRS government subsequently reduced the project height to 148 metres, a decision that effectively weakened the scheme's capacity and benefits. Venkataswamy further contended that certain contractors had reaped substantial gains from the Kaleshwaram project during the BRS tenure.

Under the current Congress administration led by Chief Minister Revanth Reddy, efforts are underway to restore the Tummidihatti project to operational status. Once revived, the project is projected to deliver irrigation water to nearly two lakh acres across North Telangana.

Venkataswamy appealed to Telangana's BJP leadership to engage with Maharashtra authorities to secure approval for restoring the project height to 150 metres, a compromise between the original 152-metre specification and the BRS-era reduction to 148 metres.