Positive signs for Tummidihatti project as Revanth and Fadnavis meet

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis felicitates Telangana Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy in Mumbai on Monday.

Solution to the long-pending Tummidihatti project seems to be in sight, with Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy and Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis agreeing to set up a joint committee to study the feasibility of increasing the project’s height to 150 metres or 152 metres, which would serve the interests of Telangana farmers from Adilabad to Rangareddy districts.

A meeting between the Chief Ministers in Mumbai on Monday broke the ice on this issue. Both States have an agreement on the project height of 148 metres, signed in 2016 when K. Chandrashekhar Rao was the Chief Minister. Mr. Revanth Reddy tried to impress upon Mr. Fadnavis that the earlier agreement would have sounded a death knell to the interests of Telangana’s farmers and tribal areas. He promised best compensation to Maharashtra farmers whose lands would be submerged after the increased height.

After the meeting, Mr. Fadnavis, in a post on social media, said a joint committee comprising the chief secretaries and secretaries of the Water Resources departments of both States will study the technical aspects and the potential submergence of areas in Maharashtra.

Maharashtra will also independently examine the issues related to increasing the height of the Tummidihatti irrigation project. The approach will remain constructive and cooperative, while safeguarding the interests of Maharashtra, he said.

Mr. Revanth Reddy posted that he concluded very productive talks with Mr. Fadnavis on increasing the FRL height of the proposed Barrage and thanked him for considering the proposal positively. “Shri Fadnavis has assured us that even while looking after the interests of his own State, in the larger national interest, he would do his best to help Telangana, especially tribal communities in erstwhile Adilabad district,” he said.