VIJAYAWADA: A day after Union Water Resources Minister Nitin Gadkari’s visit to the Polavaram project site, Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Thursday said he had appealed to the minister to not delay the irrigation project believing corruption allegations being levelled against the TDP by Opposition leaders.
“Some forces are trying to obstruct Polavaram, the lifeline of AP, and levelling allegations to stop the project work,’’ he said, addressing a State-level workshop of the TDP at his residence in Undavalli. Naidu claimed that even after a year of submitting the second Detailed Project Report (DPR II), the Centre is yet to give approval.
“Gadkari, during his visit to Polavaram on Wednesday once again sought clarifications with regard to cost escalation of land acquisition, rehabilitation and resettlement. I told him that I will send a delegation from the State to Delhi to clear all doubts. If that’s not enough, I will go there myself and take the whole Secretariat with me,” he told party leaders.
Naidu said the Centre and Parliament, which passed the Land Acquisition Bill, 2013, were responsible for the escalation of the cost of land. “When Gadkari sought the completion of the project works by February, 2019, I replied that it would be possible only if the Centre extended required funds. The contractor is ready, but money is the problem. It is not correct to order the completion of works without giving money,’’ the Chief Minister said.
Stating that 57 per cent of the irrigation project had been completed, the Chief Minister stated that the Centre was yet to reimburse the `2,250 crore spent by the State government. Asserting that his government had implemented various schemes in addition to fulfilling promises made in the TDP election manifesto, Naidu called upon party leaders to highlight the welfare and development schemes.
Alleging that the BJP, YSRC and Jana Sena had launched a joint attack on the TDP, Naidu observed that neither YSRC nor Jana Sena had “uttered a single word against the Centre”. “Pawan Kalyan, who in the name of Joint Fact Finding Committee announced that the Centre should give `70,000 crore to the State, is mum about the demand during his yatras,” Naidu said.