VIJAYAWADA: State Water Resources Minister P Anil Kumar along with a delegation of members of parliament (MPs) is scheduled to meet Union Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat in New Delhi on Monday to discuss various pending issues related to Andhra Pradesh, especially those related to Polavaram irrigation project.
The delegation is likely to submit a representation seeking the release of pending funds, clearance of the revised cost estimates (RCE) of the project, establishment of a revolving fund and other issues.
According to the minister’s office, the meeting is expected to commence at 2 pm. The delegation is also expected to request release of Rs 15,000 crore, as sought by Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy in a letter sent to Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the last week of August, to meet the expenditure of rehabilitation and resettlement. Besides requesting for the early reimbursement of Rs 3,805 crore, the delegation will also request the ministry to push for the approval of Revised Cost Estimates (RCE). Though the RCE was cleared for Rs 47,725.74 crore in March this year, it is yet to get Union finance department’s nod.
As the State government has targeted to complete the first phase of the project by December 2021, release of funds is critical to expedite the execution, particularly the R and R works. The issues pertaining to expenditure bills, which were not accepted by the ministry, are likely to be discussed.The delegation is also likely to request financial support for other projects such as those proposed for tapping surplus floodwater, Uttarandhra Sujala Sravanthi and others.