Thinkers’ Forum calls for time-bound plan to complete pending irrigation projects in Andhra Pradesh

The Alochanaparula Vedika (Thinkers’ Forum) on Saturday (January 10, 2026) urged the Andhra Pradesh government to announce a clear, time-bound programme to complete ongoing and pending irrigation projects, cautioning against political mudslinging between Andhra Pradesh and Telangana over water issues.

Addressing a press conference, Forum convener T. Lakshminarayana, retired IPS officer A.B. Venkateswara Rao, Rythu Seva Samstha representative Akkineni Bhavani Prasad, and Centre for Liberty president Nalamothu Chakravarthi said that the State government still had adequate time, with three more annual budgets before the 2029 general elections, to restore public confidence in the irrigation sector.

The Forum demanded that the government place a detailed fact sheet in the public domain, outlining the status of irrigation projects, timelines for completion, fund requirements, and budgetary commitments for the next three years. They sought specific assurances on major projects such as the Srisailam Right Branch Canal, Telugu Ganga, Galeru–Nagari Sujala Sravanti, Handri Neeva, and Polavaram. Excluding Polavaram, a national project, the Forum said it had written to Chief Minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu seeking clarity on all State irrigation projects.

The speakers said that field visits revealed that many projects were stalled due to inadequate fund releases and the absence of project-specific budgetary allocations, warning that delays would persist without focused financial planning.

The Forum criticised political leadership in both Andhra Pradesh and Telangana for engaging in accusations and counter-accusations over irrigation projects, including the Rayalaseema Lift Irrigation Scheme and Telangana’s Palamuru–Rangareddy Lift Irrigation Scheme. Both projects, they alleged, lacked statutory clearances and permissions, yet were repeatedly used as political tools to stoke regional sentiments and deflect attention from governance failures.

Calling on the public not to fall prey to political rhetoric, the Forum alleged that successive governments in both States had spent hundreds of crores of rupees on unapproved lift irrigation schemes while neglecting long-pending projects such as Telugu Ganga. It asserted that completing existing projects would be sufficient to address irrigation needs, if pursued with seriousness and accountability.