VIJAYAWADA: A day after Vamsadhara Water Disputes Tribunal has ruled in favour of construction of Neradi Barrage, Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy welcomed the judgment and directed the officials concerned to prepare an action plan for executing it. He added that the proposed project would be beneficial to both Andhra Pradesh and Odisha, and clarified that his government’s policy was to move forward with mutual cooperation.
On Tuesday, the Chief Minister said that the state would invite his Odisha counterpart Naveen Patnaik and public representatives from the neighbouring state for the foundation-laying ceremony of the project and its ancillary components. He instructed the officials to expedite the process once the gazette is released, according to a statement from the Chief Minister’s Office.
Jagan had written to Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik seeking cooperation in taking the project forward in April this year. Prior to that, the water resources department has also written to the officials of the neighbouring state on multiple occasions.
It may be recalled that the tribunal on Monday has pronounced its ruling in the interlocutory petition filed by the Centre in view of the interim petitions filed by Odisha government on land acquisition and construction of a retaining wall. The tribunal has directed Odisha to acquire the required 106 acres of land required for the barrage construction and to hand it over to AP within a year of the order. The compensation and other expenses for the land acquisition are to be paid by AP.
Neradi Barrage will have a right head sluice with a design capacity of 8,000 cusecs for meeting the requirements of AP and a left head sluice for Odisha. The capacity of the latter must be intimated to AP by the Odisha government within six months, the tribunal said. The cost of the proposed Neradi barrage will be borne by the two states on ayacut basis. The tribunal has also given directions on water sharing. A supervisory committee has also been constituted to oversee the implementation of the tribunal’s judgment.
Cabinet meeting on June 30
The State Cabinet will meet under the Chairmanship of Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy in the Secretariat on June 30. In a note sent to all the departments of Secretariat on Tuesday, Chief Secretary Aditya Nath Das, while informing that the meeting of the Council of Ministers will commence at 11 AM at the Secretariat on June 30, directed secretaries to send proposals to the GAD by 1 PM on June 28 so as to brief the Chief Minister