Release of ₹3K cr. for land acquisition, rehabilitation and resettlement works of pending projects in process: Irrigation Minister
HYDERABAD The State government has decided to release ₹5,000 crore on priority basis for land acquisition, rehabilitation and resettlement (R&R) works of irrigation projects as
HYDERABAD The State government has decided to release ₹5,000 crore on priority basis for land acquisition, rehabilitation and resettlement (R&R) works of irrigation projects as part of its plans to accelerate execution of the projects. In a meeting to review the ongoing project works in the erstwhile Karimnagar district here on Saturday, the Minister instructed the District Collectors and irrigation officials to treat land acquisition, R&R, forest clearances and environmental approvals as priority issues and resolve them on a war footing. Stating that ₹2,000 crore had already been released for the purpose, Mr. Uttam Kumar Reddy said the release of remaining ₹3,000 crore was under process. He made it clear that shortage of funds would not become a reason for delaying irrigation works that were nearing completion.
He reviewed the progress of ongoing works in Karimnagar, Jagtial, Peddapalli and Rajanna Sircilla districts. Minister for Agriculture and district in-charge Minister Tummala Nageswara Rao, Minister for IT and Industries D. Sridhar Babu, Minister for Transport Ponnam Prabhakar and Minister for Social Welfare and Tribal Welfare Adluri Laxman Kumar participated in the review along with other elected representatives. Uttam Kumar Reddy asked the District Collectors to raise financial requirements and obtain the necessary tokens without delay. Compensation to landowners and rehabilitation of project-affected families should proceed the engineering works wherever feasible. He stated that focus would be on the works that were stalled for about four-and-a-half years so that investments already made in major projects could be converted quickly into irrigation benefits.
He told the officials to immediately resolve the land-related issues and restart the balance works of Mid Manair Left Canal. He wanted them to pursue revised estimates, land acquisition, tenders and statutory clearances simultaneously. On Sri Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy reservoir at Pathipaka in Dharmaram mandal of Peddapalli district, he said it should be put on a fast track as it was designed to create 10,000 acres of new irrigation potential and stabilise 2.40 lakh acres under D-83 to D-94 of the Kakatiya Main Canal covering Dharmapuri, Choppadandi, Peddapalli, Ramagundam and Manthani constituencies. Two alternatives — a 3 tmc ft and a 5 tmc ft reservoir — were also under examination. LiDAR survey and data processing were completed, while borehole drilling, trial pits and geotechnical investigations were under progress.
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