Chagalnadu Lift Irrigation Scheme

Chagalnadu Lift Irrigation Scheme is a lift irrigation project in Andhra Pradesh, India. The scheme draws water from the Godavari River and was developed to provide irrigation to agricultural land in the former East Godavari district, as well as drinking water to villages along the scheme's route.[1]

Location and purpose

The Chagalnadu Lift Irrigation Scheme was proposed at 12.43 km along the Akhanda Godavari Left Bank near Katheru village in the former East Godavari district. The Andhra Pradesh government stated that the scheme was intended to irrigate an ayacut of 34,204 acres and provide drinking-water facilities to villages located along the route of the system.[1]

The scheme forms part of a group of irrigation projects developed in the Godavari basin to extend irrigation to areas that could not be adequately served by gravity flow alone. Its lift-irrigation design requires water to be pumped from the river into the irrigation system.[1]

Development and irrigation

Government planning documents from the early 2010s list the Chagalnadu scheme among the major irrigation projects of Andhra Pradesh. The state's 2013–14 Annual Plan allocated ₹700 lakh for the scheme, while the 2014–15 budget provided a further ₹200 lakh.[1][2]

A later government pre-feasibility report stated that the Chagalnadu Lift Irrigation Scheme had been constructed in East Godavari district and was successfully operating, with an irrigated ayacut of approximately 14,164 hectares (35,000 acres). The report also noted that the entire ayacut was included within the command area proposed to be served by the Polavaram Left Main Canal.[3]

The difference between the originally planned ayacut of 34,204 acres and the approximately 35,000 acres described as irrigated in the later report reflects the way the figures were reported in different government planning and implementation documents.[1][3]

Technical characteristics

The scheme is a pumped irrigation system using water from the Godavari River. A 2012 performance audit of the Andhra Pradesh government's Jalayagnam irrigation programme listed Chagalnadu among the state's lift irrigation schemes and recorded a power requirement of 12 MW. The same table estimated daily electricity use of 0.29 million units and total electricity requirements of 34.56 million units during the crop period.[4]

The scheme's reliance on pumping is significant because lift irrigation requires substantial electrical power in addition to the civil works associated with canals, pump houses and distribution infrastructure.[4]

Relation to the Polavaram Project

Chagalnadu has also been considered in relation to the Polavaram Project. A 2006 technical and environmental review of the Polavaram project recorded that the Andhra Pradesh government had sanctioned the Chagalnadu Lift Irrigation Scheme with the intention that it would ultimately be supplied from the Polavaram system by gravity. The review noted that the scheme's main canals and distributary system were expected to be integrated with the Polavaram canal system after completion of the larger project.[5]

The relationship reflected an effort to use the existing lift scheme to provide earlier irrigation benefits while allowing the larger Polavaram irrigation system to subsequently supply the same command area through its canal network.[5]

Government expenditure

The Chagalnadu Lift Irrigation Scheme appears as a separate project in the financial accounts of the Government of Andhra Pradesh. The state's 2010–11 accounts recorded cumulative expenditure of approximately ₹81.68 crore, while the 2011–12 accounts continued to list expenditure on the scheme.[6][7]

The 2013–14 Finance Accounts also recorded ₹10.67 crore of expenditure during that financial year against the scheme, compared with ₹10.09 crore in the previous year.[8]

Operation and maintenance

The scheme has continued to require operation and maintenance works after construction. A 2026 decision of the High Court of Andhra Pradesh concerned a contract for annual maintenance and operation of the three stages of the Chagalnadu Lift Irrigation Scheme for 2021–22. The case records that the contractor had been awarded an operation and maintenance contract and that payment disputes subsequently arose over completed works.[9]

The reference to three stages in the court record indicates that the scheme operates through multiple pumping stages and associated infrastructure, although the judgment primarily concerns the maintenance contract rather than the technical design of the project.[9]

Agricultural and water-supply role

The principal objective of the scheme has been to increase the reliability of irrigation in upland areas of the Godavari basin. Government planning documents describe both agricultural irrigation and drinking-water supply as benefits of the project.[1]

The scheme has therefore formed part of the broader development of water infrastructure in the Godavari basin, alongside projects such as the Tadipudi Lift Irrigation Scheme, Pushkaram Lift Irrigation Scheme and Venkatanagaram Pumping Scheme.[3]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Annual Plan 2013–14 (PDF) (Report). Government of Andhra Pradesh. 2013. p. 77. Retrieved 21 August 2026.
  2. ↑ Annual Plan 2014–15, Volume VII (PDF) (Report). Government of Andhra Pradesh. 2014. p. 40. Retrieved 21 August 2026.
  3. 1 2 3 Pre-Feasibility Report (PDF) (Report). Government of India, Ministry of Environment and Forests. 2015. Retrieved 21 August 2026.
  4. 1 2 Jalayagnam – Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (PDF) (Report). Comptroller and Auditor General of India. 2012. p. 102. Retrieved 21 August 2026.
  5. 1 2 Order on construction of Polavaram Project (PDF) (Report). Central Empowered Committee. 2006. p. 25. Retrieved 21 August 2026.
  6. ↑ Finance Accounts 2010–11, Volume II (PDF) (Report). Government of Andhra Pradesh. 2011. Retrieved 21 August 2026.
  7. ↑ Finance Accounts 2011–12, Volume II (PDF) (Report). Government of Andhra Pradesh. 2012. Retrieved 21 August 2026.
  8. ↑ Finance Accounts 2013–14 (PDF) (Report). Government of Andhra Pradesh. 2014. Retrieved 21 August 2026.
  9. 1 2 "Power Solutions vs. W.P.No.29618 of 2025". Indian Kanoon. 7 January 2026. Retrieved 21 August 2026.
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