Telangana CM vows to irrigate one crore acres

Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao on Tuesday inaugurated Bhakta Ramadasu Lift Irrigation Scheme and vowed to achieve the goal of irrigating one crore acres of land in the state.

He dedicated Bhakta Ramadasu Lift Irrigation Scheme (BRLIS) to the people in Khammam district. Claimed to be first of its kind in the country to be completed in 11 months, the project will use Krishna river water to irrigate 60,000 acres of land in drought prone areas of the district.

The government spent Rs 336 crore on BRLIS, which was completed two months ahead of the deadline.

It is also the first project to be completed as part of redesigning of irrigation systems by the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) government.

Addressing a public meeting after inaugurating the project, the Chief Minister said he would not rest till full utilisation of the state's share of Krishna and Godavari river waters to irrigate one crore acres in the state.

KCR, as the chief minister is popularly known, said the completion of the project was a befitting reply to those who used to ask what would Telangana get with separate statehood.

He alleged that like other regions of Telangana, Khammam district also suffered discrimination in undivided Andhra Pradesh.

The TRS chief flayed opposition Congress for creating hurdles in irrigation projects by filing petitions in the court.

Reacting sharply to former Union Minister P. Chidambaram's statement that the TRS government is a failure, he reminded the Congress leader that the government is spending Rs 35,000 crore annually on welfare schemes.

He claimed that Telangana has become the number one state in the country in terms of expenditure on welfare.

KCR said Telangana progressed on all fronts during the last two-and-half years and was ahead of many states, including the Congress-ruled states.

--IANS

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