Context

Recently, Telangana government inaugurated world’s largest multi-stage lift irrigation scheme namely Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Project Phase I.

About

The Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Project (KLIP) is a multi-purpose irrigation project on the Godavari River in Kaleshwaram, Telangana. The cost of this project is around Rs. 80,500 cr.

Background

• This project is an off-shoot of the original Pranahitha-Chevella Lift Irrigation Scheme taken up by the Congress government in 2007 when Andhra Pradesh was not divided.
• After the formation of Telangana in 2014, the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) government redesigned the project on the ground that the original plan had too many environmental obstacles and had very low water storage provision.
• With the help of highly advanced Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) survey and study of flows in Godavari at different locations, the government separated the original project into two projects- Pranahitha project and Kaleshwaram project.

Aim of KLIP

• The main target of this project is to harness the flood waters of the Godavari River so that Telangana can be made drought-proof.
• Under this project, water of the Godavari will be tapped by reverse pumping and storage which would raise the water level in the whole state and that will lead to refill thousands of tanks, providing water for industries and supplying drinking water to Hyderabad and Secunderabad by creating a series of storage tanks and a network of pipelines.
• This project has been designed to meet 70% drinking water requirement of the state and to irrigate 45 lakh acres of land for two crops in a year.
• This project will support Mission Bhagiratha and Mission Kakatiya, which were designed to provide drinking water to many villages and improve the capacities of tanks in the Telangana.

Features of KLIP

• It has the longest tunnel to carry water in Asia, running up to 81 km, between the Yellampally barrage and the Mallannasagar reservoir.
• The project would also utilise the highest capacity pumps, up to 139 MW, in the country to lift water.
• This project has provision for the storage of about 148 tmc ft with plans of utilising 180 tmc ft by lifting atleast 2 tmc ft water every day for 90 flood days.
• The project is designed to irrigate 7,38,851 hectares (over 18.47 lakh acres) uplands in the erstwhile districts of Karimnagar, Nizamabad, Warangal, Medak, Nalgonda and Ranga Reddy.
• This is the first time the water of the river Godavari has been lifted to the height of 92 meters for the agricultural irrigation and for water supply. The maximum height of this water lifting is 618 meters in Kondapochamma (Telanagana).

Mission Kakatiya It is a flagship programme launched by the Government of Telangana. The objective of this mission is to enhance the development of agriculture based income for small and marginal farmers, by accelerating the development of minor irrigation infrastructure, strengthening community based irrigation management and adopting a comprehensive programme for restoration of tanks. Mission Bhagiratha It is a project for safe drinking water for every village and city household in Telangana. The main aim of this mission is to ensure safe and sustainable PIPED drinking water supply from surface water sources and to provide each household with a tap connection. Light Detection and Ranging  LiDAR is a surveying method that measures distance to a target by illuminating the target with pulsed laser light and measuring the reflected pulses with a sensor. Differences in laser return times and wavelengths can then be used to make digital 3-D representations of the target. LiDAR sometimes is called 3D laser scanning, a special combination of a 3D scanning and laser scanning. It has terrestrial, airborne, and mobile applications.  LiDAR is commonly used to make high-resolution maps, with applications in geodesy, geomatics, archaeology, geography, geology, geomorphology, seismology, forestry, atmospheric physics, laser guidance, airborne laser swath mapping (ALSM), and laser altimetry. The technology is also used in control and navigation for some autonomous cars.