VIJAYAWADA: Gundrevula project on river Tungabhadra, considered a possible game-changer for the drought-hit Rayalaseema region, has remained a non-starter for years. Now with the YSR Congress government keen on addressing the issues of Rayalaseema, it is expected that the project will finally see the light of the day.
The proposed irrigation project with 20 TMC capacity, which will benefit both Rayalaseema and neighbouring Telangana State, is expected to feature in the latest round of talks between Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy and his Telangana counterpart K Chandrasekhar Rao on Monday.
Once completed, the project, estimated to cost Rs 2,800 crore, is expected to stabilise 2,65,628 acres under the KC canal in Kurnool and Kadapa districts besides meeting the drinking water needs of Kurnool city and adjoining villages along KC canal. Further, the ayacut under the Rajolibanda Diversion Scheme (RDS) in Telangana State will get stabilised.
Before and after the State bifurcation, the project, which is proposed to be constructed using assured waters of Tungabhadra to the State, has remained a political slogan during elections. It has even become a bargaining point for a prominent politician to change parties. "Listening to all such promises, people of Kurnool are now demanding execution of the project at the earliest to solve the drinking and irrigation water issues," said a noted leader from Kurnool.
Among the four Rayalaseema districts, Kurnool district is blessed with two major rivers -- Krishna and Tungabhadra -- and near the confluence of these two rivers, Srisailam project, one of the important multi-purpose projects in the country, was constructed.
However, the waters in the project were never utilised to cater to the drinking water needs of Kurnool, the erstwhile capital of Andhra State.Any irrigation project conceived, modified or altered in Kurnool will have an impact on the entire Rayalaseema, hence to address the water needs of the region, it is inevitable to focus on the projects in Kurnool, an irrigation expert opined.
"To understand the importance of Gundrevula Project, one should first know what Tungabhadra river means to Kurnool. The tributary of the Krishna river can be be described as the lifeline of Kurnool, but has remained under-utilised because of one reason -- lack of reservoirs to store the assured water to the region," retired irrigation engineer M Subbarayudu told TNIE.
According to him, as per Bachavat Tribunal Award, only 31.45 TMC of water per year has been allocated to Srisailam project, but on an average 150 TMC of water is being released to the project and recently the water flow from Tungabhadra crossed 300 TMC mark.
Kurnool-Cuddapah (KC) canal gets water from Sunkesula Barrage on Tungabhadra River and the storage of capacity of 1.2 TMC is not sufficient. In spite of heavy rains from time to time in the river basin, the water could not be retained due to lack of sufficient storage facilities.
"On April 13, 2011, I submitted the proposal to construct Gundrevula project upstream Sunkesula project with a capacity of 20 TMC at Gundrevula village in C Belagal mandal of Kurnool district. It is a complete gravity-based project. But, there has been no progress all these years. Hopefully, if the present government completes it, it will quench the thirst of Kurnool," Subbarayudu said.
In November 2013, the then government gave administrative approval for Rs 54.95 lakh for preparing Detailed Project Report (DPR). Subsequently, ARVEE Association prepared the DPR.
As per the DPR, a total of 4,464 hectares in Kurnool and 2,371 hectares of land in Mahbubnagar of Telangana would be submerged. Telangana side was more than ready for the project, but lack of political will saw the project remain a non-starter.
N Chandrababu Naidu, when he was Chief Minister, assured to complete the project whenever he visited Kurnool, but there was no progress. It was only in 2018, just before elections, that a GO was issued according in-principal administrative approval for the project.
A total of six villages in Kurnool district will be submerged and another four villages will be partially submerged. Similarly, three villages in erstwhile Mahabubnagar district of Telangana will be submerged and two villages will be partially displaced once the project is completed.
Recently during his visit to Kurnool district, Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy was given a PowerPoint presentation on Rayalaseema irrigation needs.