BRS govt's irrigation policies put Telangana at great risk: Ruling Congress' white paper

Hyderabad: Calling the irrigation policies adopted by the previous BRS government destructive, the Congress government said these policies had put Telangana at great risk. 

In the white paper on the irrigation sector laid out by Irrigation Minister N Uttamkumar Reddy in the state Assembly on Saturday, it was said that the wrong policies, huge debts, and corruption incurred a huge burden on the state. 

Irrigation-related policies of the BRS government have come under criticism during the run-up to the Assembly polls. The white paper said that the state would have to pay an insurmountable debt burden of Rs 1.35 lakh crore in the next 10 years.

While initiating the discussion after presenting the white paper, Uttam Kumar Reddy said that the previous government's faulty policies and designs had led to mishaps like damage to the Medigadda reservoir, etc. Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy said that despite caution and objections from irrigation experts and engineers, the then chief minister, K Chandrshekar Rao, had gone ahead with the Medigadda reservoir at the current location. 

BRS MLA and former irrigation minister, T Hareesh Rao, objected to the chief minister and the irrigation minister's remarks. He said the white paper was full of lies. 

The white paper said that after the formation of Telangana state, the previous government spent Rs 1.81 lakh crore and created irrigation potential for only 15.81 lakh acres. About Rs 11.44 lakh has been spent per acre. 

“Between 1956 and 2014, Rs 54,234 crore was spent on irrigation projects in Telangana in the erstwhile Andhra Pradesh and provided irrigation to an area of 41.76 lakh acres. Between 2014 and 2023, 15.81 lakh acres of new ayacut have only been created, which is only 38% compared to the ayacut provided before the formation of the state. In 2023–24, 17.21 lakh acres of ayacut were to be provided with water, but only 500 acres of ayacut have been created,” said the Congress government in the white paper. 

Pending bills 

The white paper further said that there are many pending bills, and even if these huge arrears are paid, new work cannot be taken up. 

The 28,412 bills are pending with the state finance department. Around 27,759 (98%) pending bills are below Rs 1 crore, with a total value of Rs 382.39 crore. Similarly, 304 bills ranging from Rs 1 crore to Rs 5 crore are pending. The total value of these is up to Rs 575.73 crore, and there are 349 bills worth more than Rs 5 crore, and the outstanding amount is Rs 12682.50 crore.