Telangana, Maharashtra Talks on Barrages across Penganga.

Maharashtra and Telangana governments would hold talks in Mumbai recently on construction of barrages across Penganga. Telangana irrigation minister T Harish Rao will discuss with his Maharashtra counterpart for permission to construct barrages across Penganga river.

The Lower Penganga Project was envisaged in 1975 as a joint project between Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh on Penganga river for utilising 42.67 tmc water in the ratio of 88:12. Telangana would get 5.12 tmc water to irrigate 47,522 acres in Adilabad district. In 2010, the Maharashtra government proposed to construct four barrages below lower Penganga project and asked the then AP government to construct three barrages.

In 2013, water sharing was done for three barrages, which will now be constructed by the Telangana government. The three barrages will come up at Rajapet, Chanakha-Korata and Pimpard. The storage capacity of these barrages will be 3.7 tmc out of which Telangana will get a share of 2 tmc - Rajapet (0.35 tmc, 2,500 acres), Chanakha-Korata (1.2 tmc, 13,500 acres) and Pimpard (1.05 tmc, 4,500 acres).

In all with the construction of three barrages, the state will get water for 20,500 acres. Subsequently, during a meeting held in February in Mumbai, the chief ministers of Maharashtra and Telangana opined that the barrages of Penganga should be taken up on priority so as to benefit farmers of both the states. The main project Penganga was pending with the Central government. Both the states have agreed to complete the four barrages under lower Penganga first.

Accordingly, the TS government on its part on Monday accorded administrative approval to Chanakha-Korata barrage with an estimated cost of `368.8 crore, which includes the cost of pump house, pressure mains to barrage command area with canal system.

During the meeting in Mumbai recently, Harish Rao will request the Maharashtra government to accord necessary consent for construction of Chanakha-Korata barrage by the state government and participation in other two barrages Rajapet and Pimpard to be constructed by Maharashtra government.

THE NEW INDIAN EXPRESS