Tummidihatti: Fadnavis open to a rethink on 152 metres, proposes a two-state committee before any decision

Telangana came away from Mumbai on 26 October with an opening rather than an answer on the Tummidihatti barrage. Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis told Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy that he was open to reconsidering the barrage height, which Telangana wants raised from the 148 metres fixed in a 2016 agreement to 152 metres, but that technical, environmental and administrative steps must be completed before any decision. That is the Telangana government’s account of the meeting at the Sahyadri State Guest House; Maharashtra has not issued a statement of its own.

Irrigation Minister N. Uttam Kumar Reddy, the Chief Secretaries of both states and senior irrigation officials sat in on the talks. Fadnavis said that if the project did not adversely affect Maharashtra or its people, his government would have no hesitation in supporting Telangana, and that the Central Water Commission would continue its technical studies.

What the committee will examine

Fadnavis proposed a joint committee headed by the Principal Secretaries of the two irrigation departments, with officials and technical experts from both states. It is to examine the barrage height, water availability, the extent of submergence, the farmland affected, the compensation required and, where necessary, alternative approaches. Officials were asked to prepare a timeline and a roadmap for further talks. No dates were set.

Telangana’s case, put by Uttam Kumar Reddy, is that 148 metres would not meet the region’s irrigation needs, while 152 metres lets water flow by gravity, cuts pumping and energy costs and is the sounder option on environmental grounds. The state said it would compensate Maharashtra farmers whose land is submerged, under Maharashtra’s own land acquisition and compensation rules. No figures for the area or the cost were given.

Revanth Reddy presented the barrage as the long-pending demand of Adilabad’s tribal belt, which he said had waited for irrigation since 6 October 1975, and said the proposed defence and civilian airport at Adilabad would serve the neighbouring Maharashtra districts too. He invited Fadnavis to the Invest Telangana Global Summit at Future City, Hyderabad, from 7 to 9 December. Fadnavis said he would try to attend.