10 years on, Sujala Sravanti still a pipe dream

Inordinate delay attributed to poor allocation of funds by successive governments after its launch by late CM YSR
File photo of then chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu laying foundation  stone of the project in Chodavaram of Visakhapatnam (Photo |EPS)
File photo of then chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu laying foundation stone of the project in Chodavaram of Visakhapatnam (Photo |EPS)

VISAKHAPATNAM: Babu Jagjivan Ram Sujala Sravanti, which was launched as part of the Jala Yagnam of the then chief minister YS Rajasekhara Reddy in 2009,  has been lying in cold storage. Since then, there has not been much progress in the project which will bring over 8 lakh acres under irrigation and provide drinking water for 1,200 villages in Srikakulam, Vizianagaram and Visakhapatnam districts.

The main reason for the inordinate delay has been a poor allocation of funds for the project by successive governments. It was originally designed to provide 53.4 tmc of water for agriculture, 4.46 tmc for drinking water and 5.34 tmc for industrial needs. The estimated cost of the project was then Rs 7,241 crore and all necessary clearances were given. However, the project was neglected after the demise of Rajasekhara Reddy. The project came into focus again when Chandrababu Naidu, during his tenure, laid the foundation-stone at Chodavaram in 2017 after giving sanction for the first phase of the project at a cost of Rs 2,022 crore.

However, the TDP, which promised in 2014 manifesto to take up Sujala Sravanti project, had allocated only Rs 12.8 crore as mobilisation grant, said the Uttarandhra Charcha Vedika convener Konathala Ramakrishna. He said 4,400 acres, including 147 acres, should be acquired for the first phase of the project. The Jagan Mohan Reddy government also belied the hopes of people as it  sanctioned only Rs 170 crore in the recent budget, he said and added that as the project cost had gone up to Rs 30,000 crore in view of the current price rise. It will take several decades for completion of the project if the allocation of funds was not increased, Ramakrishna said.

He said the project was mooted to lift Godavari water for 120 days to divert water in 196-km-long canals and to store in four reservoirs. As part of the project lift schemes should be set up at Purushottapatnam in phase I, at Papayapalem in phase II and at the proposed four reservoirs in the third and final phase. He said the project will solve problems of both irrigation and drinking water needs of people in the backward districts of the State.

Speaking to TNIE, former irrigation chief engineer S Satyanarayana said the government should mobilise funds for Sujala Sravanti as it was a State project. Though the project will meet the needs of the region, completion of the Polavaram Left Main Canal should be taken up on priority and it should be connected to Purushottapatnam project.

However, Uttarandhra Rakshana Vedika convener S Shiva Sankar said Sujala Sravanti was the only solution to provide assured irrigation and drinking water in north Andhra.
He said Odisha government was constructing projects in upstream of  Mahendra Tanaya and also Bahuda and this would lead to the water problem in Srikakulam and Vizianagaram districts.
If Sujala  Sravanti was not completed the districts would face perennial drought, Shiva Sankar said.

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