Speaker Kodela Siva Prasad sticks to his guns, tells Ramachandra Rao to check facts

Taking exception to the statements of Kodela, Rao had written a letter to the former alleging that the TDP government seems to have misled the Speaker too by giving him false information.
Speaker Kodela Siva Prasad.
Speaker Kodela Siva Prasad.

VIJAYAWADA: Asserting that all he said about the progress of Polavaram during his visit to the project site recently is true, AP Legislative Assembly Speaker Kodela Siva Prasad Rao has suggested Congress Rajya Sabha MP KVP Ramachandra Rao, to go through facts with regard to the project.

After visiting the project site along with farmers from Guntur district on July 31, the Speaker had mentioned that only 2 per cent of works of the project were taken up between 1941 and 2014 and that 56 per cent of works had been completed in the last four years.

Taking exception to the statements of Kodela, Ramachandra Rao had written a letter to the former alleging that the TDP government seems to have misled the Speaker too by giving him false information.
However, in his reply to the Congress MP, Kodela made it clear that at the time of his visit to the project, 56 per cent of the works had been completed. The government statistics reveals the same, the Speaker pointed out in the open letter to the Congress MP.

Going through the annexure attached to the letter by the Congress leader explaining about his party’s contribution to the irrigation project in terms of getting approvals between 2005-2012 and finalising tenders for earth dam and spillway works, the Speaker said that it is nothing but the Congress MP’s admission that no other works have happened in the said period. Further, the Speaker pointed out that the then Congress government, in an order released on February 6, 2013, stated that pretenders were closed due to poor progress of works as only 1.68 per cent works of earth-cum-rock fill dam, spill channel and approach channels were completed.

If it is a fact that the then Congress government got all the approvals, why did the companies go back from executing works citing lack of approval to designs and delay in handing over the lands? he demanded to know. If you had all approvals, why did you fail to take up headworks of the project? Kodela asked.

He says people are understanding the foresight of the present TDP government in providing irrigation water in Coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema by directing the water from Godavari to Krishna. Now, people are of the view that ayacut in Guntur, Prakasam, Twin Godavari and Visakhapatnam districts would have been stabilised if the previous government diverted the water to Krishna river and North Coastal Andhra and there would have been possibility to supply adequate water to Rayalaseema, he said. “Was it not the erstwhile governments responsible for the Polavaram estimates escalating to `57,000 crore? Despite getting approvals and having the opportunity to spend funds, was it not the irresponsible attitude of those rulers?’’ Kodela asked.

Speaker on Polavaram progress
57.41 per cent: Works of the project completed
44.23 per cent: Progress of headworks
77 per cent: Progress of earth works
33.7per cent: Progress of concrete works
61.75per cent : Progress of gate works

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