Revanth Reddy Tells Officials to Press On With Maharashtra Talks on Tummidihatti Barrage

Telangana Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy has told irrigation officials to keep up close contact with Maharashtra and settle the open questions around the proposed Tummidihatti barrage on the Pranahita river. He reviewed the progress of recent talks at a meeting in Hyderabad on Tuesday with Minister Uttam Kumar Reddy and senior officials.

The message to the bureaucracy was to be ready and responsive. Officials are to share full project details, especially how much land in Maharashtra could go under water, and to exchange all relevant documents, including existing agreements. Anything Maharashtra asks for is to be supplied without delay, with technical papers on hand for the next round.

Telangana also sweetened its offer. Reddy said the state will pay adequate compensation for any Maharashtra land affected and is willing to park the money in a joint account held by both governments. He added that Telangana has no objection if Maharashtra carries out its own independent survey of submergence.

The backdrop is the October 26 meeting in Mumbai between Reddy and Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis. Telangana asked to build the barrage at 152 metres rather than the 148 metres agreed in 2016, arguing the lower height would not serve the irrigation needs of the erstwhile Adilabad district. A higher barrage, it says, allows more water to flow by gravity and trims reliance on expensive pumping.

Fadnavis suggested a joint committee led by the irrigation principal secretaries of both states. It would examine barrage height, water availability, submergence, affected farmland, compensation and technical feasibility, and then draw up a roadmap and timeline.

The numbers explain why the height matters. Officials estimate a 152-metre barrage could submerge about 2,300 acres in Maharashtra, while a 150-metre structure would affect under 1,000 acres and spare villages. Telangana says the project is meant to irrigate two lakh acres in tribal-dominated, backward parts of erstwhile Adilabad, a prize that gives it reason to negotiate patiently.

For farmers and rural economies in the region, the takeaway is a constructive tone: cost-sharing guarantees, open data and a joint panel point to a path toward agreement. Read the original report at Deccan Chronicle.

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