VIJAYAWADA: Even as the State government aims to complete the entire Polavaram irrigation project by the end of 2019, the clearance of the revised cost estimates (RCE) of the multipurpose national project is yet to get the requisite final approval, without which the funds will not be released.
Two months have elapsed since the project crossed a major milestone of getting the nod of the Technical Advisory Committee (TAC), but, the State officials concerned said, the file has not moved as expected.
The officials pointed out that regular and uninterrupted flow of funds is vital for the completion of the works on time. Already, the cash-strapped State government has spent `4,508.35 crore over and above the approved costs (as per the previous detailed project report), and has been book-managing the available meagre funds to ensure that the project’s progress remains unaffected.
“Eighteen months after submitting the RCE, the TAC approved the revised cost of `55,548 crore on February 12. It has been two months and we learnt that the file is still with the Ministry of Water Resources,” a senior official from the department explained. As per the protocol, after TAC’s green signal, the file has to be sent to Niti Aayog and to the Ministry of Finance and back to Ministry of Water Resources. After this, the RCE will be sent to the Union Cabinet for final clearance.
So far, the State government has spent `11,235.61 crore and of which the Centre has reimbursed `6,727.26 crore. As per the latest status report, close to 69 per cent of the total project works have been executed. “With the new financial year beginning, we sought the release of `2,000 crore as an advance payment for ways and means. But, neither it was given nor the GST advance. They did not allow any overdraft for withdrawal from the RBI also. So, there have been a few hiccups in managing funds,” the official elaborated.
However, officials, who are in the know of proceedings at the Ministry, said that the administrative procedures take some time. “There is no deliberate delay. The process takes time. We are confident that all the clearances will be given soon,” a top-ranking official added.