The Hindu : Front Page : Sop to Irrigation Department cut

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Jun 05, 2007
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Front Page

Sop to Irrigation Department cut

G. V. Ramana Rao

A view of Prakasam Barrage

VIJAYAWADA: The Prakasam Barrage, which has an ayacut of 13.5 lakh acres, is not an irrigation structure, according to engineers of the Andhra Pradesh Southern Power Distribution Company Limited (APSPDCL).

In an odd bureaucratic wrangle between the Discom and the Irrigation Department, a divisional engineer of the APSPDCL served a notice on the Vijayawada Irrigation Circle last September, asking it to pay arrears of Rs. 82.30 lakh as power supplied to the barrage was not used for "irrigation purpose".

He contended that power was being used at the barrage only to "operate gates during flood season and not for irrigation purpose". As a result, the Discom could not extend any concession and the Irrigation Department would have to pay the tariff in full.

Consequently, the tariff was enhanced from the regular Rs. 30,000 to a flat rate of Rs 1.64 lakh a month and asked the Irrigation Department to clear the arrears in retrospect from March 2001.

A reply sent by Superintending Engineer (Irrigation) B. Suryanarayana to the Discom on December 30, detailing the history of the barrage and the role it played in irrigating a major ayacut all these years, has not met with any success in convincing the Discom officials.

Concession

The SE of Guntur Division of the Discom responded on March 7 by saying that concession was given earlier under High Tension (HT) Category IV-A account pertaining to the Government-run lift irrigation schemes. However, the barrage was reclassified as HT II (non-industries) and was no longer entitled to any concession.

Irrigation engineers expressed surprise at this argument. "If the barrage is not an irrigation structure, the Discom should claim full tariff from 1954 when it was constructed. Why has it woken up so late?" an Irrigation engineer asked.

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