Almatti-Pennar Link

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Almatti-Pennar link forms a part of the scheme of transfer of the surplus of Mahanadi and Godavari rivers to the deficit basins of Krishna, Pennar, Cauvery and Vaigai, an important part of the various proposals for inter-basin water transfer proposals under the Peninsular Rivers Development Component of the National Perspective Plan. Krishna (Almatti)–Pennar link envisages diversion of 1980 Mm3 of waters from Krishna for enroute utilization in Krishna and Pennar basins.

The project comprises of the following components:

  • The existing storage reservoir at Almatti across the river Krishna with gross storage capacity of 3439.70 Mm3 and live storage capacity of 3104.70 Mm3 at FRL 519. 6 m. This reservoir is part of the ongoing Upper Krishna Project in the State of Karnataka.
  • A 587.175 km long link canal, which off take from the right bank of Almatti dam with full supply level of 510.000 m. This canal finally outfalls into Maddileru River, a tributary of Pennar River.

A reservoir across river Pennar near Kalvapalli with gross storage capacity of 83 Mm3 and live storage capacity of 73 Mm3 at FRL 475.00 m to serve as a balancing reservoir for the link canal. It is situated in Anantapur district of Andhra Pradesh. This reservoir is proposed at RD 386.4 km of the link canal.

  • The existing Bukkapatnam tank across the river Chitravati with a live storage capacity of 15.30 Mm3 at FRL 448.07 m. It is situated near Bukkapatnam village of Anantapur district in Andhra Pradesh. The location of this tank is at RD 536.20 km of the link canal.

The annual irrigation proposed through the link is 258334 ha which comprises 16334 ha in Middle Krishna sub-basin, 46224 ha in Tungabhadra subbasin, 83741 ha in Vedavathi sub-basin and 112035 ha in Upper Pennar sub-basin. The annual utilization in Middle Krishna, Tungabhadra and Vedavathi sub-basins will be 85 Mm3 , 253 Mm3 and 505 Mm3 respectively while the same in Upper Pennar sub-basin will be 871 Mm3 as per the suggested cropping pattern.

Apart from irrigation, it is also proposed to provide for future domestic and industrial water requirements in the command area. Additional domestic and industrial requirements, projected to 2050 AD, are estimated to be 22 Mm3 and 34 Mm3 respectively. Transmission loss in the link canal is estimated to be 210 Mm3 . A power house is proposed at the canal off take with an installed capacity of 13.5 MW and annual power generation of about 42.5 MU. The canal is designed for carrying peak demands of the month of August. The canal is designed as a cement concrete lined canal with trapezoidal section. The size of the canal at the off take is 32.00 x 5.25 m with a bed slope of 1 in 20000. Out of the total length of 587.175 km, five tunnels constituting to a total length of 35.660 km are proposed to cross the ridges to avoid heavy cutting. The maximum diameter of the tunnel is 13.60 m with a bed slope of 1 in 10000.

The total cost of the link project has been estimated under three units, viz.,

  1. Head works,
  2. Canal system and
  3. Power house.

The cost of Unit-I, Head-works, works out to Rs.52.43 crores. The cost of Unit-II, the Canal System, works out to Rs.6519.51 crores. The cost of Unit-III, Power house, works out to Rs.27.86 crores. Thus, the total cost of the link project is estimated to be Rs.6599.80 crores at 2003-04 price level. The cost per Mm3 of water diverted works out to Rs.3.33 crores. The schedule of construction of the link is planned for a period of 10 years.

The link project will benefit Raichur and Bellary districts of Karnataka and give relief to the drought prone areas of Anantapur district of Andhra Pradesh by providing assured water for irrigation. The benefit-cost ratio of the whole project has been worked out considering the annual cost of the project and the annual benefits from the project and is found to be 1.20. The internal rate of return of the project with and without distributional and employment impacts works out to 14.26% and 9.51% respectively.


Source:National Water Development Agency (NWDA)

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