Continued from P1

Pending environmental clearances to the Telangana projects was also reviewed in the meeting. The Chief Minister appealed to the Union Minister to grant environmental clearances for the Palamuru-Rangareddy Lift Irrigation Scheme (PRLIS), Dindi Lift Irrigation Scheme (DLIS), Sitarama Sagar Multipurpose Project (SSMP), and Gauravelli reservoirs. He brought to the attention of Patil the recent announcement of the new guidelines for environmental clearances in the light of the recent Supreme Court verdict and urged the Centre to accord approvals to these projects immediately. The Chief Minister briefed the Minister that the delay in granting clearances was escalating the construction costs.

Jal Shakti Minister was also requested to expedite approval of clearances pending with the Central Water Commission (CWC) for the Sammakka Sagar project. The project's Detailed Project Report (DPR) had already been submitted to the CWC and sought approvals regarding the irrigation plan and inter-state aspects, the Chief Minister said, informing the Union Minister that discussions were underway with the Chhattisgarh government to obtain a No Objection Certificate (NOC) for the project. The Chief Minister and the Union Minister discussed the pending installation of telemetry system which is being undertaken by the Krishna River Management Board (KRMB) and requested to expedite the works. Revanth Reddy informed that the state government had already deposited the required Rs 4.15 crore for the first phase of the installation and urged for the swift completion of the installation of systems in the first, second and third phases.