VIJAYAWADA: The YSR Congress has said the CAG report on Polavaram has endorsed its views on the issue from land acquisition to kickbacks. Speaking to media persons here on Thursday, party leader and Chairman of Public Accounts Committee (PAC) in State Assembly Buggana Rajendranath said, “The project was taken over by the State government to benefit contractors and get kickbacks. The CAG has endorsed this view.” Focussing more on irrigation sector and the irregularities therein, the report questioned the methodology involved in monitoring expenses, which is a slap in the State government’s face, he stated.
He said the State has failed to reach the target and meet the project timeline. It has rehabilitated only 4 per cent of the project-affected families. Many other works have not yet begun as the Centre did not disburse funds as the State failed to show proper accounts, he added, quoting from the CAG report.
As per the report, the irregularities come in the form of escalated disbursement of money to contractors over and above the earmarked `18,300 crore under various heads. It has no proper monitoring apparatus to gauge the progress of the project work and it is impossible for the State to complete the project by 2019, he said. “Our views and fears were the same,” he said. The Centre would have completed the project by now, he claimed.