Hyderabad: Redesign helps Palamuru Rangareddy LIS improve TS water availability

Hyderabad: In a transformative move, the redesign of the Palamuru-Rangareddy Lift Irrigation Scheme (PRLIS) has improved Telangana’s water availability by leaps and bounds. The redesigning of the scheme now enables the State to lift around 2.4 TMC of water per day from the Krishna River, a significant leap from the previous proposal of 0.5 TMC per day in erstwhile Andhra Pradesh. The water storage capacity in the Krishna Basin has surged from less than 7 TMC to an impressive 67.97 TMC.

For several decades, Telangana primarily relied on the Krishna and Godavari River Basins for water supply, leaving it vulnerable to drought during lean rainfall periods. The rulers of erstwhile Andhra Pradesh neglected the recommendations of the National Water Resources Development Commission, both the Bachawat and Brijesh Kumar Tribunals in their reports, suggesting for construction of reservoirs and tanks in Telangana.

As a result, major and medium projects in erstwhile Andhra Pradesh had a total storage capacity of 1,232 TMC, with Telangana’s share at a mere 302 TMC. With changes in designs and locations for projects like Jurala, Telangana continued to suffer due to in inadequate water storage and supply. For instance, the Jurala project’s maximum storage capacity is 11.94 TMC, against its allocated 17.84 TMC. This prevented the State from utilising the allocated water optimally, leaving 70,000 acres without sufficient irrigation facility.

Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao recognised the importance of water storage for Telangana’s agricultural prosperity. The Kaleshwaram project, with a total water storage capacity of 147 TMC, to serve Telangana’s diverse water needs. The PRLIS was thus redesigned, further enhancing water storage capacity to a staggering 67.97 TMCs from less than 7 TMC. Further, restoration of checkdams and tanks has bolstered water storage potential, ensuring more reliable access to water resources.

Thus, Telangana which once relied on just 8 TMC of water storage capacity in the Krishna basin, is now poised to reach 75.94 TMCs, due to initiatives like the Palamuru Rangareddy LIS. The reengineering of the project with modern infrastructure, now enables the State to lift around 2 TMC per day, using the nine mammoth motor pumps of 145 MW each.