YSRC govt diverted Rs 3,385 cr Polavaram funds: Nimmala

Vijayawada: Minister for water resources Nimmala Rama Naidu alleged that the previous YSRC regime had diverted Rs 3,385 cr of Polavaram project funds and failed to make any progress in the project execution in the last five years. The minister was answering queries raised during the Legislative Council’s Question Hour by the members including D. Rama Rao, V. Chiranjeevi and P. Anuradha on the status of the project, here on Wednesday.

The minister said that their government led by Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu would complete the project with the support of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. “CM Chandrababu Naidu held 34 physical reviews and 107 virtual reviews with the officials to monitor the project's progress. This shows his commitment for completion of the project” he said.

Explaining the alleged funds' diversion, the minister said- the previous TD government spent Rs 11,762 cr between 2014 and 2019 and the Centre released
Rs 6,764 cr in the same time. The former YSRC government spent Rs 4,167 cr during 2019-24 while the Centre released Rs 8,382 cr, the amount which included the funds spent by the previous TD regime, and diverted Rs 3,385 cr by not spending the allocated funds on the Polavaram project.

Talking about the lack of progress in the project, the minister said while the previous TD government completed 72 per cent of the works, and the YSRC regime carried out only two per cent of the works and it even took the project work backwards by almost 30 per cent by not focusing the execution of the project. Quoting a report from IIT Hyderabad, the minister said the Polavaram project was without any caretaking agency or official for more than 13 months as the YSRC regime changed both of them despite a request from the Polavaram Project Authority (PPA) not to do so. “This neglect has resulted in damage to the diaphragm wall which would require Rs 990 cr to restore it, seepage in both upper and lower cofferdams and caving in of guide bund,” he explained.

The minister also said the previous government did a great disservice to the project in the name of reverse tendering to save funds. “The YSRC government claimed it saved `628 crore through reverse tendering. However, it caused an additional burden on the state exchequer by revising estimates,” he held. 

Responding to a query on the cost of the original estimate of head works of the Polavaram project in 2019 and the manifold rise of the cost during 2019-24, the minister replied the estimated cost in 2019 was Rs 5,654.10 cr and it was revised to `11,704.94 cr after incorporating deviations and additional items based on the approvals from CWC and Dam Design Review Panel.