Govt Cancels Keshavapuram Reservoir Contract, Unveils new Water Supply Plan
Hyderabad: The State government has taken a key decision by cancelling the Keshavapuram reservoir tenders, which were initially proposed by the previous administration as part of the Godavari Phase 2 project to supply water to the outskirts of the city.
The State government has opted to cancel the 2017 contract awarded to Megha Engineering company. This project was originally designed by the previous government to channel water from the Kondapochamma Sagar to the Keshavapuram Reservoir and then to Hyderabad to meet the city’s drinking water needs.
The Municipal Administration and Urban Development department issued a government order (GO) on Wednesday to officially cancel the contract. According to government sources, this decision is expected to save approximately Rs2,000 crore, which was projected to be the cost of the reservoir and its related works.
In place of the previous plan, the State government has introduced fresh proposals to extend the Godavari Phase 2 scheme from Mallannasagar to the Osman Sagar and Himayat Sagar reservoirs, ensuring Hyderabad’s Greater city region has a sustainable drinking water supply.
The recent proposal aims to pump 15 TMC of water from Mallanna Sagar, with 10 TMC earmarked for Hyderabad’s drinking water needs and 5 TMC for the twin reservoirs. This project, designed for multipurpose use, was recently approved by the State Cabinet. Chief Minister Revanth Reddy also directed the officials to issue fresh tenders for these works shortly.
In fact, the original tenders planned to bring Godavari water from Yellampally through Mallanna Sagar and Kondapochamma reservoirs to fill the Keshavapuram reservoir, a 5 TMC capacity storage facility. From there, it would supply 10 TMC of drinking water to Hyderabad via Ghanpur.
However, even after six years, the project has not progressed. Issues such as land acquisition challenges and an inefficient alignment design stalled the work. The previous administration had routed the project through forest lands and defense properties, which led to complications. Despite winning the tender, Megha Engineering ultimately did not proceed with the project.
Recently, the Megha Engineering wrote to the government, requesting revisions to the 2017 SSR (Standard Schedule of Rates) rates to align with the 2024 SSR rates, citing an inability to proceed with the old rates.
However, the State government has rejected this request, opting to cancel the tenders allotted to Megha Engineering due to the lack of progress. Moving forward, the State government plans to initiate work based on a new alignment that reduces costs and allows for gravity-fed water distribution to supply Hyderabad and refill the Osman Sagar and Himayath Sagar reservoirs.
