Hyderabad: Irrigation and Civil Supplies Minister N Uttam Kumar Reddy on Wednesday, June 10, said the Telangana government was moving ahead with a clear technical roadmap for the rehabilitation of the damaged Kaleshwaram barrages and had set a target to complete the works by the summer of 2027.
After reviewing the progress of investigations, testing and rehabilitation planning at the Medigadda project site, the Minister said the ongoing investigations, hydrological studies, Ground-Penetrating Radar (GPR) tests, geotechnical borehole studies and other technical assessments were being fast-tracked.
Most of the preliminary investigations had already been completed, Reddy said, and the remaining studies were expected to be completed by the end of June or the first week of July. Based on these findings, detailed rehabilitation designs would be submitted to the Central Water Commission (CWC) and the National Dam Safety Authority (NDSA) for approval.
Minister Uttam Kumar Reddy reviews progress at the Medigadda Barrage
“The actual rehabilitation works were likely to begin after the monsoon season, possibly by the end of November or in the first week of December,” Reddy said. “The government would make every effort to complete the works in one working season and restore the barrages by the summer of 2027.”
‘Congress not interested in politicising issue’
Uttam asserted that the Congress government wasn’t particularly interested in politicising the issue, despite serious mistakes affecting the project’s development in the past. “Our focus is on accountability, safety and completion. We want to ensure that the barrages are restored properly and safely,” he said.
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Reddy noted that the earlier Congress government had launched the BR Ambedkar Pranahita-Chevella Project with an estimated cost of Rs 38,000 crore, and nearly one-third of the work was completed before 2014.
According to the Irrigation Minister, if the original project had been continued, it could have been completed around 2016-17 and would have provided irrigation to about 16 lakh acre. Instead, BRS changed the project and drastically increased the cost, causing huge financial losses and technical problems, he said.
The project cost, originally Rs 38,000 crore, had surged to over Rs 1 lakh crore and as per the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) estimates, could reach Rs 1.45 lakh crore. Despite the massive expenditure, he said, the three barrages had not been used since December 7, 2023.
Reddy alleged that the barrages were damaged in October 2023, during the previous government’s tenure. “Central agencies later found serious deficiencies in design, construction and operation,” he said.
Telangana govt working to restore barrages
The current government has ordered inquiries by the Judicial Commission and the NDSA to fix accountability and ensure technical clarity, he added.
The government initiated the rehabilitation process simultaneously to restore the barrages “in the interest of Telangana farmers.” A reputed international design consultant, AFRY Group, in a joint venture with the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay, was appointed for its rehabilitation design.
National Dam Safety Authority had observed major issues, including the cut-off depth, tail-water rating curve, energy dissipation arrangements, physical model studies, and gate operations.
NDSA assured that the issues were taken into account for a detailed study, as the earlier designs didn’t accurately capture the operational requirements of the barrages.
The Authority informed that GPR tests were 80 to 90 per cent completed across the three barrages. Borehole and geotechnical investigations were expected to be completed by the end of June.
Reddy clarified that all future designs, repairs, and related works will be undertaken with approval from the CWC and NDSA to ensure that the rehabilitated barrages remain safe and functional for the next several decades.
Highlighting the project timeline, the Minister said the government’s objective is clear. “It wants to complete investigations by July, finalise designs after the monsoon, begin rehabilitation by November-end or December, and complete the works by the summer of 2027.”
“The people of Telangana had already suffered due to wrong decisions and defective execution in the past,” he said. “The present government is determined to correct those mistakes and put the project back on a safe and useful track.”
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