Telangana irrigation projects, including the Palamuru-Rangareddy and Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Schemes, were allegedly left unused despite substantial inflows into the Krishna and Godavari rivers, BRS working president KT Rama Rao said on Friday, linking the situation to crop stress and a shortage of water for farmers.
Rama Rao blamed the Congress government for what he described as drought-like conditions in the state. He said the government had failed to operate the two major lift irrigation schemes even though water was available in both river systems.
“This is not a drought brought by time, but one brought by the Congress,” Rama Rao posted on X, according to a report by Telangana Today. He accused the government of failing to use available water resources to protect agriculture.
The BRS leader said the Krishna River had received 250 TMCft of floodwater this year, while the Godavari River recorded inflows of 750 TMCft. He alleged that pumps at the Palamuru-Rangareddy and Kaleshwaram projects were not operated despite these inflows.
According to Rama Rao, the reported non-operation of the pumps had left farmers struggling to save drying crops. He also said some farmers were being forced to purchase water transported by tankers, adding an immediate cost to agricultural households seeking to protect their fields.
The allegations place the operation of Telangana’s large lift irrigation systems at the centre of the state’s current water-management debate. Both projects depend on pumping arrangements to move river water to areas that cannot be served through gravity-based irrigation alone. Their operation therefore affects not only water availability but also the timing and cost of supplying farmland.
The figures cited by Rama Rao refer to total inflows reported for the Krishna and Godavari rivers, but the supplied report does not provide project-wise storage levels, pump-operation records, command-area data or an official explanation for the alleged non-operation. It also does not include a response from the Congress-led state government or the agencies responsible for managing the irrigation schemes.
Rama Rao’s statement did not announce a new government measure or specify a timeline for restarting the pumps. The next official clarification would need to establish the operating status of the two projects, the water available for irrigation and the steps being taken to address farmers’ reported crop-water shortage.
