Hyderabad: Irrigation and Civil Supplies Minister N. Uttam Kumar Reddy on Saturday reviewed the progress of the J. Chokka Rao Devadula Lift Irrigation Scheme and directed officials to make it fully operational within the next two years.
During the review meeting, held with Minister D. Seethakka and elected representatives from the combined Warangal district, Reddy urged the Irrigation Department to remove bottlenecks and speed up pending works. He emphasised that every targeted farmer in north Telangana should benefit from the project.
The Devadula project is to benefit over nine Telangana districts upon completion
The project aims to lift 38.16 TMC of Godavari water to irrigate 5.57 lakh acres across nine districts. So far, officials have achieved irrigation coverage over 3.17 lakh acres, in addition to 58,028 acres through groundwater sources.
So far, the government has spent ₹14,269.63 crore of the total ₹18,500 crore project cost, including more than ₹11,600 crore on civil works. While Phase I is already operational and Phase II is nearing completion, Phase III—covering 2.39 lakh acres—is partly finished.
Furthermore, physical progress includes 1,660 km of earthwork, 670 km of pipeline, and completion of 8,510 out of 16,113 structures. Out of 46 tanks and 21 pump houses, 39 and 18 are functional, respectively.
In Jangaon, about 88,000 acres will benefit from the project. Other major coverage areas include Warangal, Hanamkonda, Mulugu, and Bhupalpally. Of the required 34,386 acres for execution, 32,079 acres have already been acquired.
Reddy instructed officials to complete all remaining mechanical, lining, and land acquisition works by the next fiscal year. He also stressed the need to release contractor payments promptly and prioritise unfinished components to stabilise the ayacut and increase agricultural productivity.
