While former Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy mocked the concept of Pattiseema Lift Irrigation Scheme during the previous TDP rule of 2014-19, today the same project has benefitted 13 lakh acres in Krishna Delta, said Minister for Water Resources Nimmala Rama Naidu on Wednesday (July 9).

Offering ‘Jala Harathi’ at the Pavitra Sangam in Ibrahimpatnam in NTR district, where the Godavari water arrives through the Pattiseema Lift Irrigation Scheme, the Minister said the NDA government was trying to bring the State back on tracks after the previous government pushed it into the “ICU”.

The previous government put a stop to 450 of the 1,040 lift irrigation schemes running till 2019, and due to this, water did not reach 4 lakh acres, the Minister said, adding that the present government is working towards reviving all those schemes.

Recalling that the scheme was launched in 2015 to divert 3,000 tmcft. of Godavari water that flowed into the sea every year, the Minister said by diverting the surplus Godavari water for the Krishna Delta, the Krishna water thus saved in the Srisailam Reservoir is being utilised for Rayalaseema.

He added that during the previous TDP regime in 2014-19, 263 tmcft. of Godavari water was diverted to the Krishna river through the lift irrigation scheme. Till date, the number stands at 428 tmcft., he said.

Terming Pattiseema a boon to the Krishna Delta, he said the scheme fetched an income of ₹50,000 crore between 2014 and 2019 for the government.

Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu wishes to store every drop of floodwater so that the saved water can be used when there is a scanty rains, the Minister said. Thanks to this water management, 20 tmcft. is still available in the Pulichintala project. By storing 45 tmcft. of flood water that flowed into the Krishna river last year, the government used it for drinking and irrigation this summer, the Minister added.

Accusing the YSRCP government of neglecting lift irrigation schemes, the Minister said they did not spend a penny on any repairs. But the NDA government has spent ₹700 crore for these repairs in its first year itself, despite financial constraints, the Minister said.

While concluding, he said Mr. Chandrababu Naidu, Deputy Chief Minister K. Pawan Kalyan and Prime Minister Narendra Modi are trying to bring the State back on the tracks, and that every department is striving to provide better governance to the people.

Vijayawada MP Kesineni Sivanath, Jaggayyapeta MLA Rajagopal Sreeram (Tatayya) and district officials accompanied the Minister to the Pavitra Sangam.