Jagan Govt Will Complete Polavaram Project: Ambati

Vijayawada: Jagan Mohan Reddy government is heading towards completing the Polavaram project soon by resolving all glitches, water resources minister Ambati Rambabu declared on Saturday.

Addressing a press conference here, he recalled that as per Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2014, Polavaram should have been constructed by the Central Government. “However, in his greed to get commissions from contractors loyal to TD, the then chief minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu informed the centre that the state government itself will take up the project,” the minister alleged.

He went on to accuse the then CM of even foregoing the Special Category Status for AP in exchange of taking up the Polavaram project.

Rambabu made it clear that Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy-led YSRC government is committed to completing and inaugurating the Polavaram Project soon. He refuted the claim of Chandrababu Naidu that the TD government had completed 72 per cent of Polavaram works. “His interest in Polavaram had been up to only collecting commissions from the contractor and nothing beyond that,” he remarked.

The minister pointed out that when Chandrababu Naidu took over the Polavaram project in 2016–17, the project cost should have been ₹29,027 crore as per the then standard schedule of rates (SSR). But Naidu agreed to implement the project at the SSR rates of 2013–14 which translates to only ₹20,398 crore. The estimated project cost in 2017–18 went up to ₹55,656 crore.

“These examples described how the TD leader got the Polavaram project from the central government only for commissions,” Rambabu remarked.

In a PowerPoint presentation, he pointed out that the Naidu government built the diaphragm wall (D-Wall) of Polavaram project without diverting the river flow or completing the earth-cum-rock fill dam and upper and lower cofferdams. This led to the collapse of D-Wall due to heavy floods.

“In my opinion, a new D-Wall should be constructed in parallel with the old D-Wall. For that, ₹2,202 crore will be required. In addition to this amount, the state government has urged the central government to sanction ₹5,000 crore for land acquisition. These two proposals have been accepted by the Union government,” the minister stated.

He said the Polavaram project will be completed with a height of 41.15 metres in the first phase. After that, the height will be raised to 45.72 metres in the second phase. In this context, he refuted TD’s baseless campaign that the project height has been reduced to 41.15 metres.

Rambabu said as per the present SSR rates, ₹30,000 crore will be required for relief and rehabilitation. This should be the responsibility of the central government, he added.