Telangana to complete pending works of 42-km SLBC tunnel: CM Reddy

Hyderabad, Nov 3 (PTI) Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy on Monday said the state government would complete the pending works of the 42-km SLBC tunnel project, touted as the world's longest.

Speaking to reporters after launching the Aerial Electromagnetic Survey for the Srisailam Left Bank Canal tunnel works in Nagarkurnool district, Reddy said the previous BRS government could not complete even 10 km of the tunnel.

He noted that about 30 km of the work had been completed between 2004 and 2014, when the Congress was in power in undivided Andhra Pradesh.

"Had (then CM) Chandrasekhar Rao and the BRS government worked sincerely and completed even one km a year, the project would have been done by now," he said.

Reddy alleged that the former CM KCR ignored the project "with ill intention", fearing the Congress would earn credit if it was completed.

"Chandrasekhar Rao and Harish Rao (then irrigation minister) neglected the project as the Congress would get a good name—and they wouldn’t get commissions," he claimed.

Once completed, the 42-km tunnel will be the "longest" in the world and enable water transfer with minimal expenditure, Reddy said.

The project cost has risen to Rs 4,600 crore—an increase of just Rs 2,600 crore over 20 years, he said, adding that the initial tender was floated for Rs 2,000 crore.

The state government, he added, has decided to adopt new methods for the project, as the Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM) technology used earlier was found to be ineffective. PTI SJR SSK SJR SSK KH