Funds sought for Sriramsagar stage-I

By Our Special Correspondent

VIJAYAWADA, JUNE 3. The Andhra Pradesh Rytu Sangham has demanded the Chief Minister, Mr. N. Chandrababu Naidu, not to take up the Ichampalli project which became controversial due to inter-State disputes and instead allot sufficient funds for completion of Sriramasagar Stage-I and the flood flow canal and take up Sriramsagar Stage II, Vellampalli, Dummagudem, Penganga projects to make optimum use of the Godavari waters for the benefit of Telangana region.

Addressing a press conference here on Sunday, Mr. K. Nageswara Rao, general secretary of the sangham, criticised the Chief Minister for planning to lay foundation for the Ichampalli project on June 15, knowing full well that it would not be possible to surmount objections raised by other States and start work on it. `This would amount to cheating Telangana people once again', he said.

Following the Bachawat award, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh had agreed to construction of the Ichampalli project across the Godavari to a height of 112 metres in 1978 to store 366 tmcft of water and generate 975 MW of power at a cost of Rs.3,500 crores. Andhra Pradesh had to meet 78 per cent of the cost to utilise only 85 tmcft water to irrigate 1.57 lakh acres and take only 263 MW of power as its share. The terms clearly were not attractive to Andhra Pradesh.

More importantly, other States are objecting to it because they would lose large areas due to submersion. But, the Central Water Commission had permitted construction of Ichampalli to a height of 95 metres to reduce submersion problems in upper reaches. This would facilitate impounding of 291 tmcft of water and generate 106 MW of power. Though the Bachawat award had allotted 1,480 tmcft of Godavari waters for Andhra Pradesh, it is not known how much of Ichampalli water would be given to it.

Mr. Rao said the CWC had cleared Ichampalli to a height of 95 metres mainly to facilitate diversion of Godavari waters to Tamil Nadu and resolve the disputes between Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. So, he contended that construction of Ichampalli would not be in the interests of Andhra Pradesh. In this context, he wanted Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Chattisgarh to review the earlier agreement.

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Section  : Southern States
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