The State government has proposed the Telugu Talliki Jala Harathi project to take Godavari water to Banakacherla in Kurnool district through the Krishna river in a hybrid model, said Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu.
The project has been estimated to cost Rs 80,000 crore if it is taken up immediately. Asserting that the completion of the project is his life ambition, Naidu felt that once it is completed it will be a game changer for Andhra Pradesh.
Mentioning that the project cost will go up if its execution is delayed, Naidu said the government is contemplating executing the project in a hybrid model through private partnership besides Central and State funds.
The government will provide viable gap funding and also pay money to private operators in the future. However, no charges will be collected from water users, he explained.
Revealing that he had already discussed the project with Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, the Chief Minister said the hybrid concept report of the project will be sent to Prime Minister Narendra Modi soon.
“We will complete the Detailed Project Report in a couple of months, and tenders will be invited. If funds are mobilised on time, the project can be completed within three years,” he maintained.
Speaking to mediapersons at the State Secretariat on Monday, he gave a PowerPoint presentation on taking Godavari water to Banakacherla
AP will be drought-free once project is done: CM
The State will become free from drought, and the future generations will not face any kind of water scarcity once the project is completed. The interlinking of rivers will be completed in the State with the shifting of Godavari water to Banakacherla, he opined.
The main objective of the project is to utilise 300 TMC of Godavari water of the total 3,000 TMC that is flowing waste into the sea during floods. Drinking water can be provided to 80 lakh people, besides irrigating 7.5 lakh acres of land with the execution of the project, he said.
The government has evolved plans to complete the Banakacherla project in three phases. In the first phase, water will be diverted from Polavaram to the Krishna river, Bollapalli reservoir will be constructed in the second phase, and in the third phase, water will be shifted from Bollapalli reservoir to Banakacherla.
Godavari water will be shifted from the Krishna river to Bollapalli reservoir through the Nagarjuna Sagar Right Bank Canal, and from there to Banakacherla Head Regulator, he elaborated.
Naidu is confident that once this project is completed, Rayalaseema will certainly turn into Ratanalaseema (land of gems). Also, water can be supplied to Nellore through the Pennar river, and drought can be mitigated in Prakasam district with the completion of the Veligonda project, Naidu highlighted.
North Andhra is facing water scarcity despite experiencing heavy rainfall, while farming is seriously hit in Rayalaseema, Prakasam and Nellore districts. Over 3,000 TMC of Godavari water has been flowing into the sea every year on an average for the past 5 decades. If the rivers are interlinked and reservoirs are built wherever necessary, AP will never face water scarcity in the future, he envisioned
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