Hyderabad: In a breakthrough for Telangana’s irrigation sector, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai on Monday gave in-principle approval to grant a No Objection Certificate (NOC) for the Sammakka Sagar Project on the Godavari. The clearance followed talks in Raipur with Telangana Irrigation and Civil Supplies Minister Capt. N. Uttam Kumar Reddy, who assured compensation for submergence in Chhattisgarh.
Telangana pledges compensation for submergence
Uttam Kumar Reddy said Telangana would take full responsibility for land acquisition, rehabilitation, and compensation in the affected Bhoopalpatnam tahsil of Bijapur district. About 73 hectares of land, river, and nala areas are expected to go under backwaters. Telangana has already offered to make advance payments to Chhattisgarh to avoid delays, he said.
Project details and benefits
The Sammakka Sagar Barrage at Tupakulagudem in Mulugu district will store 6.7 TMC of water at FRL +83 metres. It will stabilise 1.78 lakh hectares under the Sriramsagar Project Stage-II and create 12,146 hectares of new ayacut under the Ramappa–Pakhal Link Canal. Districts including Warangal, Suryapet, Mahabubabad, Jangaon, Khammam, and Nalgonda will benefit.
The project also targets fluoride-hit regions of Nalgonda and Warangal by providing river-based drinking water. “This is not just an irrigation project it is a lifeline for millions,” Uttam Kumar Reddy said.
Major infrastructure features
The barrage includes three pump houses, delivery cisterns, and a 90-kilometre tunnel network with four tunnels, each 8 metres wide, designed to carry 182 cumecs of discharge. The system also involves gravity canals, cross-drainage works, regulators, and road bridges.
Assurances from Telangana
Uttam Kumar Reddy said Telangana was ready to adopt recommendations of the IIT Kharagpur study commissioned by Chhattisgarh on submergence. “We will pay compensation as per existing rules and extend full cooperation,” he said.
He thanked Vishnu Deo Sai for his positive response and expressed confidence that the project would soon secure final clearance from the Central Water Commission.
