NOC hope rekindled for Sammakka Sagar Project

Chhattisgarh CM Vishnu Deo Sai assures consideration to Uttam's request

Metro India News | Hyderabad 

The long pending Sammakka Sagar Project on the Godavari River has moved a step closer to securing final approval, with Telangana Irrigation and Civil Supplies Minister Capt. N. Uttam Kumar Reddy personally taking up the issue of a No Objection Certificate (NOC) with Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai during the latter's visit to Hyderabad on Friday. The positive response from the Chhattisgarh Chief Minister has strengthened hopes of an early resolution to the last remaining hurdle in the project's approval process.

During the meeting, Uttam Kumar Reddy highlighted Telangana's sustained efforts to expedite key irrigation projects aimed at utilizing Godavari waters for irrigation, drinking water supply and regional development. He urged the Chhattisgarh Government to issue the pending NOC required for appraisal of the project's Detailed Project Report (DPR) by the Inter State Directorate of the Central Water Commission (CWC). Vishnu Deo Sai assured that the request would be examined sympathetically.

The Minister informed Chhattisgarh that all other CWC directorates have already cleared the project and only the NOC remains pending. Telangana has taken several steps to address concerns raised by the neighbouring state, including funding a detailed submergence and backwater survey at a cost of Rs 9.883 crore, which is currently underway in Bijapur district. The State has also assured compensation for any affected lands in accordance with law.

Originally conceived under the P.V. Narasimha Rao Kanthanapally Sujala Sravanthi Scheme, the project was redesigned after the formation of Telangana and shifted downstream to Tupakulagudem to reduce submergence impacts and improve technical viability.

The project is designed to divert 46.96 TMC of Godavari waters to stabilize irrigation across 4.40 lakh acres under SRSP Stage II and create a new ayacut of 30,000 acres through the Ramappa Pakhal Link Canal. It will also support the Devadula Lift Irrigation Scheme and provide drinking water to hundreds of villages in the erstwhile Warangal and Khammam districts.

With environmental and major technical clearances already secured and the survey process progressing, officials expressed optimism that issuance of the NOC could soon pave the way for final DPR appraisal by the CWC, removing the last major procedural obstacle to the project.