VIJAYAWADA: There has been a delay in the clearance of the second Revised Cost Estimate (RCE-II) of the Polavaram Irrigation Project (PIP) as the State government has not submitted the socio-economic survey, detailed project report (DPR) for distributary network, formulating revised construction schedule sought by the Polavaram Project Authority (PPA), despite repeated reminders, said Minister of State for Jal Shakti Bishweswar Tudu in a written reply to YSRC MP V Vijayasai Reddy’s question in Rajya Sabha on Monday.
The YSRC MP sought to know if the RCE-II of Rs 55,548.87 crore for the national project, approved by the Technical Advisory Committee, is still pending. Responding, the Union minister explained that RCE-II for Rs 55,548.87 crore at the 2017-18 price level was accepted by the Advisory Committee on Irrigation, Flood Control and Multi-Purpose Projects of the Department of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation under the Ministry of Jal Shakti in its 141st meeting held in February 2019. Subsequently, the revised cost committee recommended restricting the RCE to Rs 47,725.74 crore at the 2017-18 price level.
The State government then submitted a proposal for clearance of RCE-II in December 2020. Following this, the PPA had sought additional information, which was not provided by the State even after repeated reminders, Tudu said.
With regard to the MP’s question on whether the government has clubbed the drinking water component with the irrigation component and if it intends to remove component-wise restrictions and ensure optimisation of reimbursement to less than 15 days, the Union minister said the Ministry of Finance, in a memo dated September 30, 2016, had conveyed approval for providing 100 per cent of the remaining cost of the irrigation component only of the project for the period starting from April 1, 2014. Accordingly, the expenditure of PIP was being reimbursed, restricted to the irrigation component only.
However, the Department of Expenditure, in its memo dated June 5, 2023, has communicated no objection to additional funding for completing the balance work of the Polavaram project for filling of water up to 41.15 metres, amounting to Rs 10,911.15 crore and another Rs 2,000 crore for cost of repairing damages caused to the projects by flood being considered by the Centre, subject to approval of Cabinet, by modifying the earlier cabinet decision. Tudu said the present no objection does not exclude the proposed expenditure on drinking water components.
He added that the Centre, in the same memorandum, has conveyed to the State its no objection to removing the component-wise ceiling for the project. Further, in order to avoid delays in the reimbursement of bills recommended by the PPA and Central Water Commission (CWC) to the State government, the Union government is closely monitoring the project works.