HYDERABAD, JAN. 4 . The Major Irrigation Minister, Ponnala Laxmaiah, has denied that a raw deal was meted out to Telangana in the implementation of irrigation projects.

The region has been allocated Rs. 2,005 crores out of a total budget estimate of Rs. 4,246 crores for the sector in the current year, he added.

This includes Rs. 1,180 crores (out of Rs. 2,313 crores) earmarked in the budget for 26 projects to be implemented in Telangana over a period of two to five years, Mr. Laxmaiah told reporters here on Tuesday.

He said the successive Congress Governments had created an ayacut of 19.02 lakh acres while the TDP Government developed only 2.20 lakh acres in 16 years. Referring to the comments of former TDP Minister, T. Devender Goud, that the Government had neglected Telangana in budget allocation, Mr. Laxmaiah said it sounded strange that the TDP leaders were talking about the backwardness of the region as they had never raised the issue while in power.

Mr. Laxmaiah refuted the contention that the Dummagudem - Nagarjunasagar tail pond link was not viable and said that apart from irrigating four lakh acres in Khammam district, it would also stabilise four lakh acres.