Andhra govt goes all out to complete irrigation projects

Executes works worth Rs 1,870 cr in 4 months

The Andhra Pradesh government is going all out for the completion of irrigation projects as targeted in its Five-Year Action Plan. Works worth over Rs 1,870 crore have been executed in just first four months of the current fiscal as compared to Rs 550 crore in last fiscal's corresponding period, P Laxmaiah, minister for major irrigation, said.

With regard to these works, Rs 1,000 crore has already been paid to the contractors and the remaining bills are being processed at various levels, the minister added. The state government has allocated Rs 6,374 crore in the current annual budget for irrigation sector as compared to Rs 4,200 crore last year. The expenditure on irrigation sector during last year was Rs 3,300.

The minister said that over 100 excavators, 125 dumpers, 177 tippers, 50 dozers and 49 drilling equipment among others are now engaged under six packages of Flood Flow Canal project in Karimnagar district.

The minister also said that due to the good inflows of water received by the reservoirs, the government is making arrangements to provide water to 69.63 lakh acres through canal system as compared to 54 lakh acres covered in the last kharif season.

The state government is planning to bring 16.58 lakh acres of additional ayacut by 2006, utilising 136 tmc of water. The Five-Year Action Plan envisages another 49 lakh acres building projects with a capacity utilisation of 377 tmc of water.

In all, the government proposes to utilise 943 tmc of water through new projects as compared to the current utilisation of 900 tmc under the existing major irrigation projects.

Over 800 tmc of water from Godavari was flown into the sea in the last 35 days, the minister pointed out to drive home the point that huge amount of water was going waste due to the neglect of previous government on constructing new irrigation projects.

He also said that lift irrigation schemes are being planned without burdening the state power grid.

According to the minister, over 1,900 mw capacity hydel power units had been proposed to be taken up for the new irrigation projects as compared to 1,740 mw of power required for the lift irrigation projects in the state.