Southern States - Andhra Pradesh-Hyderabad   

Govt. working on grand `tap-Godavari' plan

By Our Special Correspondent

HYDERABAD March 24. A comprehensive plan for utilisation of Godavari waters is being prepared by the State Government with a view to seeking funding from the World Bank and the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC).

This plan, estimated to cost roughly Rs. 8,000 crores to Rs. 10,000 crores, will cover six ongoing and new projects across the Godavari. They are Ellampalli Barrage, Godavari Lift Irrigation project (Devadula), Singareddypalle hydro-electric project, Flood Flow Canal and Sriramsagar Project - II.

Disclosing this at a press conference here today, the Minister for Major Irrigation, Kadiam Srihari, said representatives of the World Bank and JBIC had been invited to participate in a two-day workshop on `utilisation of Godavari waters' here on March 28 and 29 in which engineers and other experts would present their suggestions. He hastened to add that the State funding for four of the ongoing projects would continue.

An important feature of the comprehensive plan is the adoption of the `river basin approach' encompassing irrigation, hydel and drinking water projects. This approach has been strongly commended by the World Water Forum at its meeting from March 16 to 23 at Kyoto, Shiga and Osaka in Japan.

The Minister, who made a power presentation on `groundwater development and utilisation' at one of the 180 sessions, said the Forum cautioned people across the globe to conserve and efficiently manage water since it was a finite resource. Several complex issues like privatisation of water sources, the demand of funding agencies for a role in water management and preventing use of water for irrigation figured at the meeting with different interest groups presenting various views.

He said 50 delegates from Andhra Pradesh participated in the meeting out of 350 from India. The initiatives taken by AP in the sphere of `participatory management of irrigation systems' and its approach to groundwater management through `Neeru-Meeru' and the Water, Land and Trees Act came up for appreciation by the delegates.

One of the highlights was a presentation in Telugu by one Gujjamma, a tribal woman from Amrabad village in Atchampet Mandal of Mahbubnagar. A beneficiary of the Netherlands-assisted A. P. Well Irrigation Project, she explained through an interpreter how she had optimally utilised water from the borewell on her farm. Using a very simple instrument to measure the water level, she regulated the pumpset according to the water available. She proudly narrated how the prudent water management had helped raise resources to admit her son in an English-medium school.

K. V. Rao, president of a Water Users' Association in Tenali, also impressed the audience. The farmer explained how participatory irrigation management could help optimise resources in the Krishna delta.

The Minister was mildly critical of the Government of India for its failure to brief the delegates before their departure to Japan about the country's stand on water-related issues so that the presentations could be more cohesive. He said he attended 16 sessions relevant to AP and would incorporate the inputs he received in the State Government's `Jala Chaitanyam' campaign from April 5 to 14.

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