VIJAYAWADA: Water Resources Minister Nimmala Ramanaidu conducted a field inspection of the Polavaram Irrigation Project in Eluru district on Thursday, reviewing the progress of the Earth-Cum-Rock Fill (ECRF) dam and key canal connectivity works.
Inspecting the ECRF dam site, the Water Resources Minister stated that 49% of works on Gap-1 and 43% on Gap-2 have been completed.
He announced that the right main canal connectivity works will be wrapped up by the end of this month, while the left main canal link will be finished by November. These ongoing canal connectivity works are being executed at a cost of Rs 536 crore.
Ramanaidu reaffirmed the state government’s commitment to complete the main ECRF dam by March 2027, in line with targets set by Chief Minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu.
Speaking to the mediapersons, Ramanaidu asserted that had Polavaram been completed earlier, the state could have utilised over 400 TMC of water to mitigate severe El Niño drought conditions.
He criticised the previous administration for leaving the project’s timeline in uncertainty, adding that the alliance government has prioritised long-pending irrigation initiatives, setting a target to complete 36 projects with an outlay of Rs 35,000 crore over the next three years.
Reviewing Rehabilitation and Resettlement (R&R) measures with officials, the Minister highlighted that 10,491 acres of land have been acquired since June 2024, with Rs 2,250 crore disbursed in compensation to displaced families.
He expressed dissatisfaction with contracting agencies for delays in preparing the Detailed Project Report (DPR) for the Polavaram spillway beautification and directed officials to expedite the process.
Simultaneously, a technical team from the Central Soil and Materials Research Station (CSMRS)—including experts Harendra Prakash, Deepamudra Nayak, and Gaurav Pandey—conducted field investigations for the second consecutive day at the ECRF dam site.
The experts performed permeability, density, and core tests between 350 metres and 800 metres of the ECRF structure to assess water seepage rates, soil strength, and moisture levels.
Soil and rock samples collected from the site were processed at the project’s on-site laboratory in the presence of Water Resources Department engineers and representatives from executing agency MEIL.