Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao has instructed the officials to build the required number of check dams on all streams in the State.
The number of check dams required should be identified and half of them be constructed this year, and the rest, the next year. The tanks that were revived under Mission Kakatiya should also be maintained every year and adequate budgetary provision would be made for construction of check dams and maintenance of tanks. He also wanted the officials to examine proposals to construct a lift irrigation scheme to supply water from Palair to Nagarjunasagar Project ayacut in Miryalaguda division. A survey be taken up for this purpose.
The Chief Minister gave these instructions during a review meeting on utilisation of small and minor irrigation resources with Minister G. Kamalakar, CMO and Irrigation officials, at Pragathi Bhavan, here on Friday.
State’s share of Godavari waters would be utilised through Kaleshwaram, Devadula and Sitarama projects. Kaleshwaram project alone would provide over 500 tmc ft of water to fill Yellampally, Mid Manair, Lower Manair, SRSP and also Mallannasagar, Kondapochammasagar, Baswapur reservoirs - that are being constructed. All the tanks would be filled under various projects and this would ensure water availability in all areas across the State for cultivation of abundant crops, he said.
In the process of releasing water to the ayacut lands, water would flow down along with rain water through several streams and rivulets and to impound this water, check dams should be constructed, Mr. Rao said.
Once the data on total number of check dams required is finalised, half of them should be constructed this year itself, and for this, tenders should be called by January 15. Mr. Rao reiterated that tanks across the State were revived in a mission mode under Mission Kakatiya, and consequently the economy of villages is also being reviving. It also important to maintain these tanks by repairing tank bunds and drains regularly. Farmers should be encouraged to take the silt removed from the tanks during every summer into their fields and it should be coordinated by the Agriculture Department, Farmers Coordination Committee and village panchayats. One of the Village Revenue Assistants should be entrusted with the responsibility of maintenance of tanks and also for removal of weeds from the tanks regularly, he said.
He instructed that during summer itself, Yellampally waters should be transferred to SRSP as in the beginning of the rainy season itself water from Kadem reservoir would reach Yellampally. Measures should be taken to ensure that there is no water scarcity for the SRSP ayacut. All the reservoirs in the State should be filled to the brim by October, Mr. Rao said.
Reorganisation of dept.
In view of the transformed irrigation system in the State, the Irrigation Department would be brought under the jurisdiction of five to six Engineer-in-Chiefs and accordingly the department should be reorganised, the Chief Minister said. The E-in-Cs would supervise and monitor all kinds of water resources under their respective jurisdiction. The Irrigation Department should work as one department without the differentiation as small, medium and major irrigation departments, he said.
