CM KCR directs officials to construct adequate Check Dams

Hyderabad: Chief Minister K. Chandrashekhar Rao has instructed the officials concerned to construct adequate Check Dams on all the streams in the state.

He asked them to estimate how many Check Dams are needed and of them, 50 per cent Check Dams should be constructed this year and the rest 50 per cent, the next year. He also asked them to take up every year, maintenance of the tanks revived under Mission Kakatiya programme. The CM held a review meeting at Pragathi Bhavan here on Friday on the utilisation of small and minor water resources.

Minister Gangula Kamalakar, MLCs Seri Subhash Reddy, Bhanu Prasada Rao, CM Secretary Smita Sabharwal, E-in-Cs Muralidhar Rao, Vijayprakash, Venkateswarlu, CEOs Veeraiah, Hamid Khan, OSD Sridhar Deshpande and others participated.

"Due to the construction of the projects, irrigation water problem in the state is getting solved. Kaleswaram. Devadula, Seetharama projects, we are able to take our share of water from River Godavari. From Kaleswaram Project alone we are taking more than 500 TMC of water. Along with Yellampally, Mid Maneru, SRSP, the newly constructed Mallanna Sagar, Konda Pochampally Sagar, Baswapur Reservoirs will be filled up with water. We will supply water to all the tanks through the projects. With this, there will be water all over the Telangana region.

There will be bumper crops. Along with the water supplied from the projects, there will be water availability through rains, water from the natural streams. Water from the streams criss-cross over the terrain and travel downwards. To store this water, Check Dams should be constructed. Prepare estimates on how many Check Dams we have in the state, how many are sanctioned and how many to be sanctioned. Find the required Check Dams and construct 50 per cent of them this year and the rest 50 per cent, next year. Invite tenders for this by January 15. Construct the remaining Check Dams next year. We will allocate funds for the Check dams in the State's Budget," the CM said.

"With inspiration drawn from the separate Statehood movement, we have revived tanks under the Mission Kakatiya Programme all over the State. These tanks have become a life source for the villages. Attend to repairs of these Tanks, their bunds, pipes, canals and others. We will provide funds in the Budget every year for this. Encourage farmers to desilt the tanks and take away the soil to their fields. The Farmers Coordination Committee and Village Panchayat should work in coordination and ensure that the desilted Tank's soil is transported to the agriculture fields. Revive the Neerati kaadu system of the past. Entrust one of the VRAs with the work on Tanks. Remove the unnecessary plants grown in the tanks," the CM said.

The CM said that water from Yellampally should be supplied to SRSP during the summer, as water in large quantities will reach Yellampally from Kadem during the Monsoon. He wanted officials to ensure that there is no water scarcity for the SRSP Ayacut. He wanted all the reservoirs in the state to be filled with water by October.

He also suggested that in tune with the change in the Irrigation network formation, the Irrigation department should be brought under five to six Engineer-in-Chief's jurisdiction. The Irrigation department should be reorganized accordingly. He wanted all the E-in-Cs should monitor and supervise all the water resources under their jurisdiction. Irrigation department should work as one department rising beyond the differences of Major, Medium, Minor and small Irrigation departments.