Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu inspects Polavaram project works in Eluru (Manikanta Kumar/DC)
Vijayawada: Chief Minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu has said that it might take a minimum of four years to complete the construction of the whole Polavaram project, including the dam, and to restore the damaged components like diaphragm wall, cofferdam etc of the Polavaram irrigation project.
The Chief Minister visited the project site at Polavaram in Eluru district on Monday and inspected the damaged components of the project, the upstream cofferdam, the caved-in guide bund etc. He also held detailed talks with officials/engineers.
Later, Naidu told the media that the D-wall suffered breaches at four places, causing damage to it over an extent of 35 per cent. “It was built at a cost of `446cr in two seasons,” he noted.
The Chief Minister said the YSRC government failed to protect it and it took one year to identify the damage to the D-wall.
He said, “I have been watching the progress of the Polavaram project for a long time. I have reviewed the progress of the project a hundred times and visited the project site for the 31st time on Monday.”
He felt that a sum of `447 crore might be required to carry out the repairs to the damaged portion of the D-wall but there still is no guarantee for its safety. “To construct the entire D-wall, the cost would work out to `990 crore,” he said.
Naidu said that the cofferdams at both upstream and downstream were constructed at a cost of `550 crore and the last gap was not filled up. This resulted in soil erosion at a time when the Godavari river experienced heavy floods. “At that time, there was no contract agency and no officials to take care of the upstream Cofferdam themselves, resulting in the damage to it.”
He said that the cost to fill up the Gap-1 could touch `2,000 crore. A portion of the Guide Bund near the spillway caved in requiring the restoration works.
Naidu said that based on the recommendations of the Central Water Commission, an international agency called AFRY was roped in to take up a study and come up with designs to restore the damaged components of the project.
The Chief Minister expressed his pain and anguish after inspecting the progress of several damaged components of the project. “Polavaram is AP’s lifeline and even a boon. We developed it when we ran the government last time.”
Naidu said that in the 2014 elections, TD along with BJP won the polls in AP, while BJP-led NDA took power at the Centre. He “persuaded the Centre to issue an ordinance merging seven agency mandals from the Telangana into AP in order to help construction of Polavaram project without facing any hurdles.”
He said that though the Polavaram project was initiated by the former CM, Y.S. Rajasekhar Reddy in 2005, “we managed to deal with it facing a series of legal hurdles with regard to land acquisition and other issues and finally came up with a plan with the dam’s height to be at 45.72 metres with a capacity to store 194 tmc-ft of water in addition to the capacity to use 320 tmc-ft of water including the floodwater and the water stored in the reservoir.
He said they had planned to ensure supply of Godavari water to parts of north Andhra districts and east and west Godavari districts and allowed Guntur and Krishna and even parts of Rayalaseema region to avail Krishna water.
Naidu claimed that in 2014-19, their government had completed 72 per cent of the Polavaram project. He criticised the YSRC rule for “adopting the reverse tendering” and changing the contracting agency a few days after the party took power in 2019.
“The YSRC government had also shifted senior officials in the water resources department, which also caused problems for the project.”
Naidu said that as the Godavari river experienced heavy floods in 2019-21, it caused damage to several components.
Underlining the importance for taking up a case study on the Polavaram project, he said, “A man unfit for politics entered into politics and has become a curse to the state (the reference being to Jagan Mohan Reddy). He made an unforgivable mistake.”
“We are studying the Polavaram project and we face a series of challenges to restore the damaged components. I want every acre in the state to be supplied with water for cultivation of crops by completing the execution of the Polavaram project and also by taking up the interlinking of rivers,” he said.
The Chief Minister visited the project site at Polavaram in Eluru district on Monday and inspected the damaged components of the project, the upstream cofferdam, the caved-in guide bund etc. He also held detailed talks with officials/engineers.
Later, Naidu told the media that the D-wall suffered breaches at four places, causing damage to it over an extent of 35 per cent. “It was built at a cost of `446cr in two seasons,” he noted.
The Chief Minister said the YSRC government failed to protect it and it took one year to identify the damage to the D-wall.
He said, “I have been watching the progress of the Polavaram project for a long time. I have reviewed the progress of the project a hundred times and visited the project site for the 31st time on Monday.”
He felt that a sum of `447 crore might be required to carry out the repairs to the damaged portion of the D-wall but there still is no guarantee for its safety. “To construct the entire D-wall, the cost would work out to `990 crore,” he said.
Naidu said that the cofferdams at both upstream and downstream were constructed at a cost of `550 crore and the last gap was not filled up. This resulted in soil erosion at a time when the Godavari river experienced heavy floods. “At that time, there was no contract agency and no officials to take care of the upstream Cofferdam themselves, resulting in the damage to it.”
He said that the cost to fill up the Gap-1 could touch `2,000 crore. A portion of the Guide Bund near the spillway caved in requiring the restoration works.
Naidu said that based on the recommendations of the Central Water Commission, an international agency called AFRY was roped in to take up a study and come up with designs to restore the damaged components of the project.
The Chief Minister expressed his pain and anguish after inspecting the progress of several damaged components of the project. “Polavaram is AP’s lifeline and even a boon. We developed it when we ran the government last time.”
Naidu said that in the 2014 elections, TD along with BJP won the polls in AP, while BJP-led NDA took power at the Centre. He “persuaded the Centre to issue an ordinance merging seven agency mandals from the Telangana into AP in order to help construction of Polavaram project without facing any hurdles.”
He said that though the Polavaram project was initiated by the former CM, Y.S. Rajasekhar Reddy in 2005, “we managed to deal with it facing a series of legal hurdles with regard to land acquisition and other issues and finally came up with a plan with the dam’s height to be at 45.72 metres with a capacity to store 194 tmc-ft of water in addition to the capacity to use 320 tmc-ft of water including the floodwater and the water stored in the reservoir.
He said they had planned to ensure supply of Godavari water to parts of north Andhra districts and east and west Godavari districts and allowed Guntur and Krishna and even parts of Rayalaseema region to avail Krishna water.
Naidu claimed that in 2014-19, their government had completed 72 per cent of the Polavaram project. He criticised the YSRC rule for “adopting the reverse tendering” and changing the contracting agency a few days after the party took power in 2019.
“The YSRC government had also shifted senior officials in the water resources department, which also caused problems for the project.”
Naidu said that as the Godavari river experienced heavy floods in 2019-21, it caused damage to several components.
Underlining the importance for taking up a case study on the Polavaram project, he said, “A man unfit for politics entered into politics and has become a curse to the state (the reference being to Jagan Mohan Reddy). He made an unforgivable mistake.”
“We are studying the Polavaram project and we face a series of challenges to restore the damaged components. I want every acre in the state to be supplied with water for cultivation of crops by completing the execution of the Polavaram project and also by taking up the interlinking of rivers,” he said.
( Source : Deccan Chronicle )
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