Kaleshwaram Project gets Environmental Clearance

On October 20, 2020, the National Green Tribunal granted environmental clearance to the Kaleshwaram lift irrigation project of Telangana. The Tribunal has directed the Ministry of Environment and Forest to form a 7-member expert committee to suggest rehabilitation and relief measures.

Kaleshwaram lift irrigation project

It is a multipurpose irrigation project on the Godavari river. The project begins at the meeting point of Godavari river and pranahita river. It was initially called the pranahita chevella project. Later it was renamed as  Kaleshwaram project in 2014.

Benefits of the project

• The project will bring irrigation and drinking water to the backward areas of Telangana.
• It will help to restore the groundwater level. This is to be achieved by shifting the usage of ground water from irrigation towards usage of surface water for irrigation.
• The project will also support mission bhagiratha and mission Kakatiya. These missions aim to provide drinking water to villages in the state of Telangana. They will also boost the capacities of the storage tanks in in rural areas.

Mission Kakatiya

It is a flagship programme of the Telangana government. The mission aims to rejuvenate water storage structures in order to help small and marginal farmers in the state.

Mission Bhagiratha

The mission aims to provide safe drinking water to every household in both cities and villages in the state of Telangana. The aim of the scheme is to provide piped drinking water to 20 lakh households in Telangana. The mission will fetch water from river Godavari and river Krishna.

Godavari river

The Godavari river is the second longest river in India after Ganges. The source of Godavari river is Trimbakeshwar in Maharashtra. The river flows through Telangana Maharashtra Andhra Pradesh Chhattisgarh Odisha and Karnataka. The main tributaries of the river are Pranahita, Sabari and Indravati. The right tributaries of the river are Manjira, Manair and Pravara.

Month: Current Affairs - October, 2020