Minister uttam Convinses Chhattisgarh CM to Give NOC for Sammakka Sagar Project

Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai has given in-principle approval to grant a No Objection Certificate (NOC) to Telangana for the Sammakka Sagar Project on the Godavari River.

The decision came after Telangana’s Irrigation and Civil Supplies Minister, N. Uttam Kumar Reddy, accompanied by senior officials, met him in Raipur on Monday.

Speaking to the media later, Mr. Uttam Kumar Reddy said he had submitted a memorandum outlining Telangana’s commitment to take full responsibility for land acquisition, compensation and rehabilitation in Chhattisgarh.

He also emphasised that the NOC was the final interstate requirement before the Central Water Commission could give its approval. In his PowerPoint presentation before the Chhattisgarh CM, the Minister informed that the Sammakka Sagar Barrage was being constructed at Tupakulagudem in Mulugu district. Designed with a storage capacity of 6.7 TMC at the Full Reservoir Level of 83 metres, it is located on the Godavari downstream of its confluence with the Indravathi.

According to project plans, the Sammakka Sagar Project will stabilise an ayacut of 1.78 lakh hectares under the Sriramsagar Project Stage-II and create a new ayacut of 12,146 hectares under the Ramappa–Pakhal Link Canal. This additional irrigation potential will benefit Warangal, Suryapet, Mahabubabad, Jangaon and Khammam districts, along with Nalgonda.

Alongside the barrage, the project envisages approach channels and gravity canals to carry water into command areas. It includes three pump houses and delivery cisterns designed to handle large volumes of discharge.

The Minister acknowledged that the project’s backwaters would extend into Bhoopalpatnam tahsil of Bijapur district in Chhattisgarh, resulting in submergence. He explained that about 13.06 hectares of land, 54.03 hectares of river area and 6.35 hectares of nala land would be affected.

He said Telangana had already offered to meet all costs associated with submergence, including land acquisition and rehabilitation in Chhattisgarh territory.