Kaleshwaram Project to Be a White Elephant to Telangana?

Telangana Government’s Ambitious Kaleshwaram Project may turn to be a White Elephant for the state in its current form. According to the DPR, the project needs 13558 Million Units of Power every year. According to the current rates, it will cost 8677 Crore to the state exchequer every year.

[m9ad]

It means the government has to spend 46,732 Rupees on each acre that is going to be cultivated with this project. It is more several thousands more than what the farmers earn from their fields. But then, in the project DPR, the government estimated the power bill only to the tune of 4067 Crore.

The government’s argument is that power will get cheaper by the time the project is completed. Even at government’s rate, the Power bill per acre is more than what that can be earned through the cultivated lands. The Project Maintenance costs will add up to the bill and will take a heavy toll on the state exchequer every year.

Irrigation Projects are often difficult to execute and costly to maintain in Telangana due to its natural topographical challenges. Hence the government is dependent on Lift Irrigation Projects which are costly and requires a lot of power.