Supreme Court orders status quo on Kaleshwaram Irrigation Project

Tags: National News

The Supreme Court on July 27 ordered status quo on the Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Project (KLIP) after the court was told that the Telangana government was expanding the project without any environmental clearance.

About Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Project (KLIP)

• Project is a multi-purpose irrigation project on the Godavari River in Kaleshwaram, Bhupalpally in Telangana.

• It is one of the largest projects in the world.

• Its farthest upstream effect is at the confluence of the Pranhita and Godavari rivers.

• The Pranhita River is the confluence of various minor tributaries including the Wardha, Pinganga and Wainganga rivers.

• The Project is divided into 7 links and 28 packages spanning a distance of approximately 500 km (310 mi) through 13 districts.

• The project aims to produce a total of 240 TMC (195 from Medigadda Barrage.

The biggest lift projects in the world

• The largest lift projects in the world were the Colorado Lift Project in America and the Great Man-Made River in Egypt.

• The capacity of these projects is in horsepower and they took more than three decades to complete.

• Now, the Indian Kaleshwaram lift irrigation project  has become the world's biggest in terms of capacities.

Significance of the Project

• The project will enable farmers in Telangana to have year-round water supply.

• The project will cover many districts that used to face rainfall deficient and groundwater fluoride pollution as well.

• Apart from irrigation, a main component of the project is the supply of drinking water to several towns and villages as well as the cities of Hyderabad and Secunderabad.