Revanth Reddy to Meet Fadnavis in Mumbai Over Tummidihatti Barrage Height
Telangana Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy will meet Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis in Mumbai on Monday (October 26) to discuss raising the Full Reservoir Level (FRL) of the proposed Tummidihatti Barrage across the Pranahita river from 148 metres to 150–152 metres. The barrage is proposed at Tummidihatti on the Telangana-Maharashtra border, and Maharashtra's consent is needed because a higher level could affect land in its territory.
The Telangana delegation will be led by Mr. Reddy and will include Minister for Irrigation and Civil Supplies N. Uttam Kumar Reddy, along with senior Irrigation department officials and engineers. Mr. Fadnavis will be assisted by Maharashtra Minister for Water Resources Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil and senior officials and engineers from the department.
The two States reached an agreement in 2016, when K. Chandrashekhar Rao was Telangana Chief Minister and Mr. Fadnavis led Maharashtra. The agreed FRL for the Tummidihatti Barrage was 148 metres after Maharashtra objected to 152 metres, citing possible submergence of parts of a wildlife sanctuary in Maharashtra. In the same meeting, the Medigadda Barrage was agreed to at 100 metres FRL. The project later lost priority as the BRS government focused on the Kaleshwaram project.
The Congress government in Telangana is now planning to revive the Pranahita-Chevella project by taking up a barrage at Tummidihatti with 152 metres FRL, as originally planned in 2007. The aim is to take water by gravity and a small lift to the Yellampally project. The Telangana government says only 2,300 acres of land would face submergence with the barrage at 152 metres FRL, and less than 1,000 acres with 150 metres FRL. It has said it is prepared to consider 150 metres if that helps secure Maharashtra's approval.
The proposal is part of a broader inter-State discussion over water utilisation from the Pranahita, a tributary of the Godavari. Telangana has argued that the original 2007 design envisaged a 152-metre FRL, while Maharashtra has tied its consent to concerns about submergence in its territory.
On May 26, Mr. Reddy wrote to Mr. Fadnavis requesting time for a Telangana delegation to discuss the barrage's height, submergence implications and other inter-State issues. He subsequently wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on June 11, seeking the Centre's intervention.
The Telangana government is of the view that a barrage with 148 metres FRL would not serve the intended purpose of water diversion. It has a backwater study report by the Central Water and Power Research Station (CWPRS), Pune, to support its position. Apart from irrigating two lakh acres in Adilabad district, the barrage is planned to serve the Kaleshwaram project ayacut and meet drinking water and industrial needs, bypassing the three damaged barrages of the Kaleshwaram project.
Mr. Reddy is expected to reach Mumbai on Sunday night and stay there for Monday's meeting. The Congress government has also requested the BJP leadership in Telangana, including the two Union Ministers, to convince its Central leadership to suggest that Maharashtra agree to 152 metres FRL.
