VIJAYAWADA: Informing that the Union Ministry of Water Resources has issued a counter affidavit on the Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by him regarding financial assistance to Polavaram project in the High Court, Congress MP KVP Ramachandra Rao has written a letter to Assembly Speaker Kodela Siva Prasada Rao. He requested the Speaker to suggest to the State government to immediately file a counter affidavit seeking complete funding for the national project so that the case would move forward.
In the letter, the Congress MP informed the Speaker that the Ministry of Water Resources issued the counter on September 5 and that it is pending to be scrutinised by the registry for admission. “The State government too, instead of just filing a ‘memo of appearance’, should file a counter affidavit seeking 100 per cent funding, including the cost escalation and the revised land acquisition expenditure, by the Centre as per the AP Reorganisation Act, 2014.
If the State government files the counter, it will expedite the case, and we may get a favourable judgment soon. However, despite my repeated requests, the State government has not been paying any heed to the matter,” he said. “I have written letters to Naidu requesting that a counter affidavit be filed. But, the CM is giving priority to spend State’s money and then get it reimbursed by the Centre, instead of directly getting Central funds for the project,” the MP said.