Non-completion of projects may cost YSRCP dearly

Anantapur-Puttaparthi : The ruling party’s negligence in completing irrigation projects in the State may work against the YSRCP in 2024 elections, political observers opined.

Tungabhadra high level canal (HLC) modernisation works, launched in 2008 during former CM YS Rajasekhara Reddy, did not see much progress till 2019. The YSRCP that came to power in 2019 also abandoned the project. Even after the Karnataka government has modernised the 100 km canal on its side, the AP government, which was a signatory to the inter-State agreement, failed to complete the project. As a result, the HLC condition became weak and canal bunds are not able to contain the pressure of water flow released from Karnataka side.

The new Bhairavanithippa project was designed to divert Krishna water that comes to Jeedipalle reservoir further to Garudapuram village in Gummagatta mandal and from there to Bhairavanithippa in Rayadurgam mandal too could not be completed, delaying its promised benefits to people. Despite the Chief Minister's promise to complete it within a year, no attention was given to the project in the budget.

Similar is the fate of the Peruru project. The project costing Rs 900 crore to be executed by constructing a canal from Jeedipalle to Peruru. The project dubbed as Upper Pennar Project is expected to irrigate 50,000 acres in Raptadu constituency. Krishna waters could have been stored in Peruru but due to delay in finishing the canal, the benefits could not be passed on to the people.

The drought-prone district cannot take advantage of the water available in Tungabhadra dam nor Krishna water due to the absence of water storage reservoirs in the district. Farmers are criticising the YSRCP government for giving zero priority to completion the pending irrigation projects in the district and in the State at large.

Even the HNSS project for bringing Krishna water is limping due to lack of financial support from the government. The project that is supposed to irrigate six lakh odd acres in Rayalaseema and three lakh acres in Anantapur district would have transformed the face of the district. But ironically, the YSR's project has not seen the light of the day.

The YSRCP government failed to complete even first phase of the project while second phase was totally forgotten. It would have been completed during 2019-24, had the government prioritised it.

The inordinate delay in the execution of Penna Ahobilam Balancing Reservoir project stage-1 and II, and the related canal system was the reason for inability to tap its share of Krishna and Tungabhadra waters. While every government demands more water allocation, the present government could not make use of allocated water due to incomplete irrigation infrastructure staring on the faces of the farmers.