Chintalapudi lift project to be ready in two years

Vijayawada : Minister for water resources Nimmala Ramanaidu assured that the state government would complete the Chintalapudi lift irrigation scheme in two years to supply water to 4.5 lakh acre in Eluru, Krishna, West Godavari and NTR districts.

He said 40 per cent works of the lift irrigation project were completed by 2019 under the TDP government. The minister Ramanaidu was replying to a question by MLAs Vasantha Krishna Prasad and Gondu Sankara Rao in Assembly on Wednesday. The two MLAs asked about the progress of the works from 2014 to 2019 and from 2019 to 2024 and wanted to know when the works will be completed.

Ramanaidu said the project estimated cost was escalated from Rs 499 crore to Rs 950 crore from 2014 to 2024. The TDP government had completed 40 per cent works from 2014 to 2019 while YSRCP government completed only five per cent works in five years from 2019 to 2024.

Promising to complete the project in two years, he said 934 acres land is yet to be acquired. Irrigation water will be supplied to more than 10 mandals spread over four districts with the completion of first phase works.

He said Nuzvid, Tiruvuru, Mylavaram, Nandigama, Gannavaram and other mandals are not getting Nagarjuna Sagar Left Canal water as these mandals are in the tail-end of the canal and stressed upon the need to construct Chintalapudi lift irrigation scheme to irrigate them.

He said initially water will be supplied to ayacut of 2.5 lakh acre in the first phase and later to another 2.5 lakh acre after completion of second phase works with revised project cost of Rs 950 crore.