Hyderabad: BRS MLC and Telangana Jagruthi president K. Kavitha has called for fair compensation and full rehabilitation for farmers displaced by the Kodangal-Narayanpet lift irrigation project. She accused the Congress government of ignoring local concerns while inflating project costs.
Speaking at Kanukurtla village in Damargidda mandal, Kavitha questioned the project’s cost hike from ₹2,900 crore to ₹4,500 crore even before construction began. She asked, “How was ₹600 crore paid in advance without any groundwork?”
Kavitha pointed out that the scheme aims to irrigate just one lakh acres, while the Palamuru-Rangareddy Lift Scheme, which was sidelined, could have benefited 1.8 lakh acres. She claimed the Congress reduced the scale to avoid crediting former CM K. Chandrashekar Rao, who had completed most irrigation works before leaving office.
She noted that in Kaleshwaram and Nizamabad, the government had compensated affected farmers with special packages. Therefore, she demanded the same standards for the Kodangal project.
“If Revanth Reddy truly considers himself a son of Palamuru, he should finish the Palamuru-Rangareddy scheme first,” she said. According to her, any CM-level decision must reduce hardships and not create new ones.
Kavitha urged the government to restart talks with affected families. She called for compensation between ₹35 and ₹40 lakh per acre and one government job per displaced household. Additionally, she demanded complete rehabilitation, including housing and essential services, for families that lost everything.
She warned that poor planning and political motives could permanently damage trust. Moreover, she emphasized that justice must be visible and not just promised.
Local leaders Gavinoor Srinivas, Venkat Reddy, Gnaneshwar, Danappa, Balakrishna Reddy, Hanumayya, Saireddy, Narayana Swamy, and Satyanarayana Reddy joined her during the visit.
