The State government of Telangana is constructing a barrage across the Godavari River at Dummugudem to achieve two main goals - water storage and hydel power generation. The under-construction Sitamma Sagar Barrage is a run-of-river hydroelectric power project located in the Bhadradri Kothagudem district of Telangana, situated approximately 200 meters downstream of the existing Dummugudem anicut built 150 years ago.
However, the Seethammasagar Barrage project, which is being prestigiously by the state government, has hit a roadblock due to orders from the National Green Tribunal to halt its construction. It has been noted that projects constructed without proper environmental clearances should be immediately stopped, and the NGT Chennai bench has ruled that permission must be obtained before commencing construction.
Despite this setback, the Telangana government under KCR's leadership believes that the project is essential. The project aims to generate 320 MW of electricity and store 37 TMC of water through the construction of a plant and barrage.
The government has named the project Seethamma Sagar as it is being built above Dummugudem Anakatta, close to Bhadrachalam Seethamma's parnashala. However, progress on the project has been slow, and now the NGT order to obtain environmental clearances has raised questions about the project's status. Many believe that this decision has political colours and it may raise considerable stakes about not granting important permissions for Telangana's development.
