AP to send revised cost estimate of Polavaram project to Centre

Vijayawada: State water resources officials are confident of getting the Centre’s approval for the Polavaram project’s revised cost of Rs 55,656 crore after they submit a revised Detailed Project Report-2.

Polavaram project chief engineer B. Sudhakar Babu said, “Once we get the Union Cabinet’s approval for Polavaram project cost at Rs 47,725 crore, we will send revised DPR-2 with revised cost estimates with a hike of 15 per cent to 20 per cent for approval by the Central government.”

According to the officials, the revised DPR-2 would include enhanced capacities for canals, land acquisition and resettlement and rehabilitation.

Earlier in the day, Union minister Jal Sakthi Gajendra Singh Shekhawat informed the Rajya Sabha that no revised DPR of the Polavaram project, which was submitted before January 20, 2009, was pending with the Centre for approval.

He said that his ministry had accepted the revised cost estimates of the project at Rs 47,725 crore and would send it for approval by the Union ministry of finance and later to the Union cabinet for its approval.

The minister’s statement made the AP officials realise that its DPR-2, which they submitted earlier, did not have enhanced capacities for Right Main Canal, Left Main Canal, land acquisition and R&R.

Because of this, they claimed, the agencies like Technical Advisory Committee reduced the cost of the project to Rs 47,725 crore from the revised cost submitted by the AP government at Rs 55,656 crore at 2017-18 price level.

Moreover, the officials also intend to seek a further hike in the cost of the project by 20 per cent to reflect the 2020-21 prices.