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Hyderabad: At a thorough review meeting with senior irrigation officials at Jala Saudha on Wednesday, Telangana Irrigation, Food, and Civil Supplies Minister Uttam Kumar Reddy gave a number of firm directives to safeguard Telangana’s water rights and move important infrastructure projects along more quickly.

He said that the Andhra Pradesh government’s Godavari-Banakacherla Link project was unlawful and against the interests of the state and that the Telangana government would continue with legal action to halt it. The minister gave staff instructions to draft a legal plan to contest the proposal right away and guarantee that Telangana’s interests are adequately represented.

The recent events, in which Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy and Uttam Kumar Reddy presented a thorough submission to Union Jal Shakti Minister C. R. Patil in New Delhi, vehemently opposing the Godavari-Banakacherla plan, lend more weight to the review meeting.

At the June 19 meeting, the Telangana delegation emphasized the project’s potential to interfere with Telangana’s current allocations and use plans and asked the Center not to accept the pre-feasibility assessment. According to the announcement, the Union Minister pledged to schedule an Apex Council meeting shortly to discuss the issue and reassured the state leadership that no clearance had yet been given.

A thorough presentation on the Godavari-Banakacherla Link project will be made at Praja Bhavan on June 30 at 3 pm, Uttam Kumar Reddy said, further demonstrating the state’s commitment. The “political background” for Andhra’s current action was revealed when he ordered the presentation to be revised to give explicit details of how the initiative began under the previous BRS government.

In order to supervise tunnel-related and other irrigation projects in the state, Uttam Kumar Reddy spoke about the process of appointing two esteemed Army commanders who are known for their proficiency in tunnel technology to the Telangana Irrigation Department. The Rohtang and Zojila tunnel projects were recently carried out with the assistance of these personnel.

The Telangana Irrigation Department has extended an invitation to General Harpal Singh, the former Indian Army Engineer-in-Chief, to serve as an honorary advisor. In July, the department will welcome Colonel Parikshit Mehra, a globally recognized authority in tunnel construction and technology.

Focusing on important matters in Telangana, the minister went over the National Dam Safety Authority’s conclusions about the damaged Medigadda, Annaram, and Sundilla barrages. He gave authorities immediate instructions to put the NDSA’s recommendations into effect. The authorities told him that the NDSA itself had volunteered to serve as the restoration project’s design consultant. He cautioned that restoration must go forward on a war footing in compliance with Central Water Commission norms and insisted on weekly progress updates, highlighting the seriousness of the situation.

He also went over the current state of other significant projects, such as the Singur Canal, for which bids have already been requested. Officials were urged by Uttam Kumar Reddy to speed up the procedures and make sure the agreements are signed as soon as possible. He received an update on the Dindi project, including the post-borewell design phase and the continuing inter-linkage cooperation. In order to expedite land purchase and project implementation, he instructed officials to meet with the appropriate district collectors.

Officials told the minister that bids for the Srisailam Left Bank Canal (SLBC) project had been requested from a number of organizations, including reputable foreign companies. Although money was not a barrier, the minister asked that a LIDAR survey be carried out since speed and quality were crucial. He gave authorities instructions to use the greatest infrastructure, labor, equipment, and cutting-edge technology the nation had to offer. To guarantee that the project moves forward quickly, more personnel may need to be hired. Additionally, he ordered a daily evaluation of the SLBC work.

Uttam Kumar Reddy urged rapid action on outstanding promotions and transfers within the department in order to address long-standing administrative difficulties. During the discussion, a group of assistant executive engineers met with him and informed him that 125 DEE positions were still unfilled and that their promotions to the level of deputy executive engineer had been postponed for more than 18 years. The minister gave them his word that there would be no further delays in the completion of any outstanding transfers and promotions.

Given that many reservoirs have lost 20–25% of their storage capacity, the minister pointed out that the Government of India has published national guidelines and even established a Cabinet Sub-Committee to address the problem of desiltation and desedimentation of key irrigation projects. He asked how the desiltation projects in Nizam Sagar, Nagarjuna Sagar, and other important reservoirs were progressing. In particular, he directed authorities to publicly notify the Andhra Pradesh government of the decision and start the desiltation process at Nagarjuna Sagar.

He also asked how Package 3 of the Devadula project was doing and provided instructions to speed up the work. He ordered authorities to find methods to fit more packages into the current budget for the Sitarama project so that financing constraints don’t halt work. Uttam Kumar Reddy made it plain at the end of the review meeting that irrigation projects should not be delayed.

He said that officials who miss deadlines would face severe consequences and that weekly evaluations would be conducted to track each work’s progress. According to the announcement, he also gave the order for the land purchase and irrigation asset operations and maintenance to proceed without any financial or other obstacles.