Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhar Reddy's pet programmme Jalayagnam is likely to impose a heavy burden on farmers of Telangana and Rayalaseema regions in the form of increased water charges. Almost all major irrigation projects being taken up in these two regions are lift irrigation (LI) schemes, which use large quantities of power to lift water to a higher level. There are 11 new LI schemes in these two regions, which require 1,700 MW of power and cost Rs 770.17 crores. Taking the existing and the ongoing LI schemes into account, the total power charges would be around Rs 980 crore.