Jairam Ramesh dodges responsibility of transfer of villages for Polavaram project
Transfer is crucial as the villages will face inundation once the Polavaram irrigation project is implemented
New Delhi: Citing paucity of time, the Union government on Tuesday passed on the job of issuing an ordinance to transfer around 200 villages from Telangana region to Seemandhra state, for facilitation of the prestigious Polavaram irrigation project, to the next dispensation.
Union rural development minister Jairam Ramesh, who was actively involved in the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh, said the UPA-II government was not able to complete the process of transfer of villages from Khammam district of the Telangana region to the residuary Andhra Pradesh, due to existence of the Model Code of Conduct.
“We won’t be able to do it. This job (of issuing the ordinance) will be done by the next government,” the minister told this newspaper on Tuesday. He said the primary reason for the passing on this crucial job to the next government was the non-availability of time. “We could not do it because the Model Code of Conduct is still in place. This will be done by the next government.” said the minister.
Asked whether the new government will complete the process, Mr Ramesh said that it is part of the process of the bifurcation of the state and that he envisages no problems.
The Union Cabinet had in February decided to transfer 200-odd villages in the Badrachalam revenue division of Khammam district in the soon-to-be Telangana state to the residuary state of Andhra Pradesh. These villages will face inundation once the Polavaram major irrigation project is implemented.
The transfer of villages from Telangana to Seemandhra is being vociferously opposed by almost all parties in Telangana, especially the TRS. TRS chief K. Chandrasekhar Rao had in March written a letter to President Pranab Mukherjee opposing the move by the Union government and wanted it to be scrapped.
It is to be seen whether the next government would pass the Ordinance before June 2 when the new Telangana state would come into existence.
The Polavaram major irrigation project has been in the news for the past several years due to the opposition from neighbouring states like Odisha while Andhra Pradesh government has been demanding national project status for it.