Hyderabad, Jan 27 (PTI) Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy on Saturday decided to appoint a committee of experts to study the quality of construction of Medigadda, Annaram and Sundilla barrages under the Kaleshwaram project.

The decision came against the backdrop of damage to the Medigadda barrage last year.

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Reddy, who held a meeting with Irrigation Minister N Uttam Kumar Reddy and officials, said the committee should comprise experts from Central Water Commission, National Dam Safety Authority and the state's irrigation engineers, an official release said.

He also directed that an all-party meeting be convened on the state's share in Krishna river water and issues concerning projects on Krishna river.

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He asked the irrigation officials to prepare a comprehensive report on meetings held since the formation of Telangana on Krishna water, the details of the meetings of Krishna River Management Board (KRMB), the decisions taken and the agreements reached, it said.

The agenda for the all-party meeting would include Telangana government in the past agreeing to 299 TMC water as its share out of 811 TMC which was the share of undivided Andhra Pradesh in Krishna water.

While Telangana had agreed to 299 TMC as its share, the share of present day Andhra Pradesh is 512 TMC, it said.

Meanwhile, officials told the CM that no agreement has been reached on handing over the Nagarjuna Sagar and Srisailam projects to the KRMB.

Some opposition BRS leaders criticised the Congress over the two projects being allegedly handed over to the KRMB.

The Chief Minister also asked about the current status of ongoing Palamuru- Ranga Reddy project and questioned officials as to why land acquisition is not making progress for Kalwakurthy project.

He told the officials to complete the works of SLBC (Srisailam Left Bank Canal) tunnel works as early as possible which would provide irrigation facility to four lakh acres

He also directed that priority be given to projects that would provide irrigation to more number of acres with less expenditure and in less time.

The National Dam Safety Authority (NDSA) had last year found that the Medigadda Barrage in Telangana has been severely compromised, rendering it useless unless fully rehabilitated.

A committee led by the Member (Disaster & Resilience) of NDSA had visited the site in October last year to conduct a thorough examination of the reasons for the sinking of the piers of the Medigadda Barrage.

The 'sinking of the piers of the Medigadda barrage' had also snowballed into a major issue during the recent Assembly polls. The 'sinking of the piers' was seen as one of the reasons for the loss of BRS in the polls.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)