A comprehensive survey is being conducted by irrigation experts including former engineers to explore pragmatic ways to extend the irrigation cover to 10 lakh acres in the district, said Minister for Irrigation T Harish Rao.
A district-specific irrigation plan would be formulated to make optimum use of the available water resources through the need-based minor, medium and major irrigation projects for expanding the irrigation cover, he said. He was speaking to media persons during his transit halt here en route to Sattupalli on Wednesday afternoon.
He inaugurated the Bethupalli flood flow canal at Sattupalli in the evening. The long-awaited canal is meant for irrigating parched lands in Vemsoor mandal.
Taking a dig at the previous Congress government, he alleged that the previous regime had initiated some unviable irrigation projects at a huge expenditure to benefit contractors. The canals and pipelines dug up under the Indira Sagar project would be utilised to supply irrigation water to the upland mandals in the district.
Efforts would be made to take advantage of the availability of water for almost the entire year at Dummugudem in Khammam district to irrigate parched lands in the district, he said.
The defunct lift irrigation schemes under the Nagarjunasagar Project left canal system would be revived, he said in reply to a query.
Source: The Hindu