Telangana Seeks NOC from Chhattisgarh for Sammakka Sagar Project
Hyderabad: Telangana irrigation minister N Uttam Kumar Reddy urged Chhattisgarh chief minister Vishnu Deo Sai to extend cooperation to the Telangana government's project Sammakka Sagar, formerly known as Tupakulagudem barrage, by issuing the pending No Objection Certificate (NOC). Uttam Kumar Reddy met the CM on Thursday night during his visit to Hyderabad.
The Chhattisgarh CM responded positively and assured that the matter would be examined sympathetically, as he explained the state government's sustained efforts to fast-track pending irrigation projects on Godavari waters, Uttam Kumar Reddy said. The neighbouring state's help would pave the way for the final appraisal of the project's Detailed Project Report (DPR) by the Central Water Commission (CWC).
The minister also handed over a formal communication seeking immediate issuance of the NOC required for appraisal of the DPR by the Inter-State Directorate of the Central Water Commission. In the letter dated June 11, 2026, Uttam Kumar Reddy recalled his earlier request made at Raipur on September 22, 2025, and highlighted the importance of the project for Telangana's irrigation sector.
He informed the Chhattisgarh government that all directorates of the CWC, except the Inter-State Directorate, had already accorded clearances to the project and that the absence of the NOC alone was preventing further appraisal of the DPR. Uttam Kumar Reddy said that engineers from both states had earlier conducted a joint survey of the submergence area. Subsequently, the Chhattisgarh government sought a more detailed survey involving demarcation of Full Reservoir Level (FRL) and backwater levels to accurately assess the extent of land and villages likely to be affected.
Demonstrating its commitment to resolving all outstanding concerns, the Telangana government agreed to bear the entire cost of the survey and released Rs 9.883 crore to the Chhattisgarh Water Resources Department in April 2026. The survey is presently underway in Bijapur district of Chhattisgarh, he said.
He recalled that Telangana government also assured the neighbouring state that compensation for any lands identified as affected due to submergence or backwater impact would be paid in accordance with applicable laws and procedures. The Telangana government has repeatedly conveyed its willingness to deposit compensation amounts in advance if required for issuance of the NOC, he said.
The Sammakka Sagar project was originally planned in erstwhile Andhra Pradesh in 2009 under the P.V. Narasimha Rao Kanthanapally Sujala Sravanthi Scheme, which envisaged construction of a barrage across the Godavari River near Kanthanapally in present-day Mulugu region for diversion of Godavari waters to stabilise the ayacut under SRSP Stage-II.
Detailed technical studies concluded that shifting the barrage downstream to Tupakulagudem in Mulugu district would be technically superior, economically more viable and would substantially reduce submergence concerns in neighbouring Chhattisgarh. The project is designed to divert 46.96 TMC of Godavari waters for stabilisation of 4.40 lakh acres under SRSP Stage-II and creation of a new ayacut of 30,000 acres under the Ramappa-Pakhal Link Canal.
