AP FM Yanamala Ramakrishnudu rejects irrigation's request for more funds

Hyderabad: It’s once again Yanamala versus Devineni, with finance minister Yanamala Ramakrishnudu rejecting a request from the Irrigation Department.

The Irrigation Department sent proposals to the Finance Department, requesting the sanction of an additional Rs 5,200 crore — besides the current year’s budget allotment of Rs 3,500 crore —  and another Rs 900 crore for the expansion of the first phase of the Chintalapudi Irrigation Project.  

The Chintalapudi Irrigation Project was taken up at an estimated cost of Rs 3,200, the first phase of work having been begun at a cost of Rs 1,750 crore. The Irrigation Department officials decided to extend the width of the canal to increase the supply of water, a task that called for Rs 900 crore in additional funds.Irked by the department’s subsequent demands, the Finance Department said that if it would have to keep sanctioning funds, what was the use in devising a Budget and making a department-wise fund allotment.

The Finance Department referred the file to finance minister Mr Ramakrishnudu who called a meeting on Sunday when he declined to sanction Rs 900 crore in additional funds. The other proposal from the Irrigation Department requiring the sanction of Rs 5,200 crore is to do with the state government having increased escalation charges of projects, a majority of the funds that it has sought being needed to defray these charges and the rest to be used for newly taken up irrigation projects.

The Finance Department officials told the minister that it would be very difficult to release these additional funds. The minister told the officials that Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu was taking more interest in completing irrigation projects and directed the officials to release some amount from the available funds. The officials told the minister that in the current year, the Irrigation Department was sanctioned Rs 3,500 crore, with Rs 2,100 crore being spent by the department. They told the minister that they would release about Rs 400 crore, and adjust it later against funds allotted to the Irrigation Department.

An official from the Finance Department said that to meet the request of the Irrigation Department, the government would have to release about Rs 700 crore every month in the remaining months of current financial year.