CWC to give its final nod to Kaleshwaram by March end

Hyderabad: Close on the heels of the Supreme Court dismissing the petition filed against Kaleshwaram project, the Central Water Commission (CWC) has hastened official process. It is expected that the CWC will give its final nod to the prestigious project by March end.

After according all environmental and forest clearances to the project by the Union Ministry of Forests and Environment recently, the CWC has taken up the study on the cost estimation and crop patterns under the project based on the reports and detailed project reports submitted by the Telangana government.

State Irrigation department officials said that the state government furnished all necessary information with regard to the ongoing Kaleshwaram project to the Commission.

It is mandatory to seek CWC’s final nod to irrigation planning and cost appraisal for the project. After completing the study, the Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) of the CWC will hold meeting on cost economics of the project with the officials concerned from state and Union government.

Financial feasibility report and economic benefits to the people under the project were explained in detail in the report. Officials said that the TAC will analyse the report in the meeting.

Once the CWC granted all clearances, the state government is entitled to seek financial assistance from the Centre as well as other external funding agencies, including World Bank at the lowest interest rates.

Kaleshwaram has been taken up at a cost of Rs 40,000 crore. The government already sought nearly Rs 10,000 crore loans from the scheduled banks by constituting Kaleshwaram Corporation.