VIJAYAWADA: Reiterating that the Polavaram Project will be completed by kharif, 2023, Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy on Tuesday assured that the project’s height would not be reduced.
Addressing the State Assembly during a short discussion on the ‘Polavaram Project’, the Chief Minister blamed the previous TDP regime’s “irresponsible” and “clueless” decisions for the delay. He said his government has expedited Andhra’s lifeline project.
Jagan said the project would be completed in 18 months once the Central Water Commission cleared its design. Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, the Union Minister for Jal Shakti, has assured to clear the designs by this month-end. The Rehabilitation and Relocation (R&R) works would be completed on time, he announced.
“Completing the Polavaram project was my father and former Chief Minister YS Rajasekhara Reddy’s dream. As his son, I am determined to complete it,” he added. A statue of YSR would be installed at the project site.
Emphasising that any project has to be implemented in a planned manner, Jagan explained how it had to be prioritised.
Polavaram R&R process will be completed by August: Jagan
“As per Polavaram’s approved design, two-kilometer wide river has to be diverted through spill channel to construct cofferdam upstream and downstream of the main earth-cum-rock-fill (ECRF) dam. The works should be taken up in an orderly manner. The spill should have been constructed first,” he said, adding that the previous TDP regime executed the project haphazardly, leaving everything incomplete. The lack of proper planning also caused damage to key components during the floods, he alleged.
“The construction of coffer and ECRF dams were taken up before completing the spillway. After realising that villages upstream would be inundated once cofferdams are constructed, the works were left midway since R&R was not taken up,” he pointed out in a PowerPoint presentation.
The gaps in the upper and lower cofferdams led to financial loss, besides delaying the project. Floodwaters that gushed in through the gaps damaged the diaphragm walls and lower cofferdam, warranting a redesign of the plan.
Claiming that his government has been clearing the “mess” created by the previous government, Jagan listed out the completed works.
Besides compromising on the Special Category Status, the opposition leader, when in power, agreed to construct Polavaram at 2014 prices for bagging commissions, the CM alleged. Although it was a national project, where every cost would be borne by the Centre, Naidu accepted the special package. “With this, the Centre agreed to pay only Rs 29,027 crore, while the escalated cost was around Rs 55,000 crore,” Jagan said.
“Today we are still pursuing the issue with the Central Government to get the project completed and ensure justice to the displaced,” he said.
Asserting that the entire R&R process would be completed by August, the Chief Minister blamed the Naidu government for ignoring R&R.
Refuting claims that the project’s height would be reduced, he said “Not an inch of the project height will be reduced.” Earlier, Minister for Water Resources P Anil Kumar Yadav explained the project and how the delay in submission of revised cost estimates had created problems. MLAs Balaraju and Jaggi Reddy also spoke.