VIJAYAWADA: Describing the Polavaram Irrigation Project as an orphan abandoned by all, Congress leader and former Rajya Sabha member KVP Ramachandra Rao wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday, seeking his intervention in expediting the project.
KVP appealed to the PM to instruct the concerned in Ministry of Jal Shakti and Polavaram Project Authority to expeditiously complete the National Irrigation Project to full reservoir level (FRL) of +150 ft without any deviation by drawing funds from the Union exchequer and not burdening the State finances. He squarely blamed the Centre’s stepmotherly treatment and failure in allocating sufficient funds for the inordinate delay in completing the project. Once completed, the irrigation project could bring into utlisation more than 300 TMC of water, he observed.
Reminding the PM that Polavaram was declared a national project with a stipulation that the Union Government shall take over and complete it by 2018, KVP said, “Unfortunately the responsibility of construction was handed over to the State against the spirit and essence of the AP Reorganisation Act passed by Parliament.” As a result, the project, which was supposed to be completed by 2018, is already delayed by five years and today no one is able to predict when it will be completed, he added.
The former MP said the project is now in a technical quandary as construction of ECRF dam was stalled since three years as a result of decisions taken by political heads of governments instead of leaving the execution work to engineers and contractors.
“The main ECRF dam was declared to be completed in all aspects in June-2018 by the then government. It is aghast to note the diaphragm wall, built to withstand even a speedy flow of 50 lakh cusecs of flood waters in the River Godavari, was damaged and washed away due to a mere flow of flood water around 20 lakh cusecs,” he expressed.
Now, key personnel in the past and present governments are resorting to blame game instead of probing who was actually responsible for the damage, he said. Pointing out that Jal Shakti Ministry, based on a report of technical committee, had decided to restrict the project’s FRL to +140 ft (+41.15 metres) instead of +150 ft (+45.72 metres), he stated, “I would like to bring to your notice that previously when alternative proposals were considered for the Polavaram Project, the Central Water Commission made it amply clear that the project cannot serve the intended benefits of providing benefit to 10.77 lakh acres, drinking water for 611 villages, 80 TMC water diversion to Krishna Basin, 23.44 TMC water for industrial use and 960 MW power generation, if it’s FRL level is reduced.”
KVP said the State government is not in a position to provide funds for land acquisition, rehabilitation and resettlement works costing approximately Rs 30,000 crore between MDDL of 140 ft and FRL of 150 ft.
The Centre, constitutionally obligated under Section 90 of the Act, to provide entire funds for construction of the Project, including LA, R&R, is compelling the State to restrict level of project to MDDL level of 140 ft, he pointed out. “If the project is restricted to this level, it cannot serve the intended benefits. Further, the amount of Rs 20,000 crore already spent on the project will become infructuous,” he noted.