Minister for Agriculture S. Niranjan Reddy has described State unit BJP president Bandi Sanjay and in-charge of party affairs in Karnataka D.K. Aruna’s comments on Rajolibanda Diversion Scheme (RDS) as meaningless and criticised their “lack of knowledge” on the irrigation system.
Mr. Niranjan Reddy sought to know from the two BJP leaders on Friday as to how they would complete RDS modernisation in six months, what works they propose for getting water to Alampur area and from where they would get the funds. He also sought to know whether they would convince Karnataka to get the allocated water to take it to the tail-end in Alampur area.
He explained that RDS was first proposed by the Nizam Government in 1946 across Tungabhadra river at Manvi in Raichur district of Karnataka with an ayacut of 93,379 acres and was completed in 1958. The KWDT-I has allocated 17.1 tmc ft water to RDS having the main canal length of 142 km including 100 km flowing in Telangana to provide 15.9 tmc ft to meet drinking water and irrigation needs of 87,500 acres.
However, the actual irrigation did not cross 20,000 acres ever in Alampur areas as Karnataka had always overdrawn water denying the same to the ayacut downstream in Telangana. He also reminded the BJP leaders that it was TRS chief K. Chandrasekhar Rao who had taken up a padayatra from July 16 to 25, from Jogulamba temple to Gadwal, in support of RDS farmers. He had also written to State MPs in August 2003 on the injustice being meted out to RDS farmers in Telangana.
It was in 2004, the State Government had appointed an experts committee and it concluded that RDS water was not reaching Telangana ayacut. As part of redesigning of projects taken up by Telangana Government Thummilla lift was proposed in 2017 to provide drinking water to the gap ayacut of RDS with ₹780 crore and completed it in 10 months serving 50,000 acres now.
After completion of four proposed reservoirs at Mallammakunta, Julakal and Vallur the entire ayacut would get water. “By deceiving the land of her birth, Nadigadda, Ms. Aruna had performed rituals to welcome water in Handri-Neeva in Rayalaseema which was taken up against the rights of Mahabubnagar people and she speaking on RDS is ridiculous”, Mr. Niranjan Reddy said.
