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Godavari river: Lift irrigation plan kicks up fresh row
The YS Jagan Mohan Reddy government came up with the new scheme – Polavaram lift irrigation scheme – in April 2021 to lift the water from the dead storage level of the Polavaram project into the right main canal during the non-monsoon season when the water level in the reservoir is low.
The Andhra Pradesh government’s proposed construction of a new lift irrigation scheme on the ongoing Polavaram major irrigation project on the Godavari river has kicked up a fresh dispute with neighbouring Telangana.
The YS Jagan Mohan Reddy government came up with the new scheme – Polavaram lift irrigation scheme – in April 2021 to lift the water from the dead storage level of the Polavaram project into the right main canal during the non-monsoon season when the water level in the reservoir is low.
The project aims to cater to the irrigation and drinking water needs of the upland areas of Krishna and West Godavari districts. The scheme, estimated to cost around ₹767 crore, is awaiting technical approval from the Central Water Commission.
On Monday, the Telangana government raised an objection with the Centre, stating that the project was illegal and against the spirit of the AP Reorganisation Act, 2014.
In a letter to the Godavari River Management Board (GRMB), constituted by the Union ministry of Jal Shakti, Telangana engineer-in-chief (irrigation) C Muralidhar said as per the AP Reorganisation Act, the Andhra Pradesh government cannot take up any new irrigation schemes on the Godavari river.
“Andhra Pradesh has no right to draw water from dead storage of the Polavaram project and any drawl beyond the specified period, was a violation of terms and conditions of the ministry of Jal Shakti,” Muralidhar said. Polavaram is a national project being built for ₹57,000 crore.
He reminded that Andhra Pradesh had earlier raised several objections to the projects constructed by the Telangana government on the Godavari river, including Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Project, Sitarama Lift Irrigation Scheme, Tupakulagudem etc, though they were not new and were being constructed only on the allocated water.
“As per the Godavari river water tribunal award, the allocation to Telangana in the Godavari was 967 tmc ft (thousand million cubic feet), whereas Andhra Pradesh’s share was around 500 tmc ft, but it is claiming 700 tmc ft,” Muralidhar told HT.
Andhra Pradesh had argued at the GRMB meeting on September 1, 2021that the projects being built by Telangana on the Godavari river would affect the irrigation needs in the Godavari delta system during the monsoon months. “If the lift scheme is constructed to draw water from the dead storage level of Polavaram reservoir, does it not affect the Godavari delta?” Muralidhar asked.
Muralidhar further said the Polavaram project authority and the CWC had asked the Andhra Pradesh government to stop works on the lift scheme for now. “But the government is learnt to have started works on the project,” he said, adding that the GRMB should intervene and stop the works.
An official in the Andhra Pradesh irrigation department, on condition of anonymity, said the Polavaram lift scheme would in no way affect the interests of Telangana, as only surplus waters of the river would be drawn through the lift and pumped into the right canal during non-monsoon months of January to April.
