VIJAYAWADA: The State Cabinet meeting held under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu at the State Secretariat on Thursday, gave its approval for the construction of a new diaphragm wall for the Polavaram Irrigation Project.
At the NITI Aayog meeting scheduled to be held in New Delhi on July 27, the State government will put forward the proposal for the construction of the new diaphragm wall for the Polavaram project. As the resolution of the Cabinet is mandatory to place a proposal before NITI Aayog, the emergency meeting of the Council of Ministers was held to give its nod for the construction of new diaphragm wall.
After the end of the fourth day proceedings of the AP Legislative Assembly, the Chief Minister and his Cabinet colleagues reached the Secretariat to attend the meeting.
It may be recalled here that while releasing a white paper on the Polavaram project last month, the Chief Minister made it clear that only due the imprudent decisions of his predecessor YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, the diaphragm wall got damaged completely.
Phase-1 of Polavaram scheduled to be completed by March 2026: Min
The previous regime had constituted an expert committee, which confirmed that the diaphragm wall was damaged. The committee also said it needs Rs 2,000 crore to take up the diaphragm wall repairs. The diaphragm wall was constructed at a cost of Rs 400 crore, and with the cost of raw materials escalating, about Rs 2,000 crore is needed to take up the repair works.
The Godavari floods during the previous monsoon season had caused huge pits near the diaphragm wall of the Polavaram project in the river bed. After mulling over whether to take up the repairs or construct a new one, the government has decided to go for a new one, and the same was approved in the Cabine t meeting.
Another resolution hailing the Centre for giving priority to AP in the recent Union Budget was also approved by the Cabinet. The Centre assured Rs 15,000 crore financial assistance to Amaravati, apart from speeding up the construction of Polavaram project.
Meanwhile, Union Jal Shakti Minister CR Paatil, in a written reply to a question raised by TDP MPs Lavu Sri Krishna Devarayalu and GM Harish Balayogi in the Lok Sabha on Thursday, informed that as per the assessed new timelines, phase-1 of the Polavaram project, i.e., water storage up to the minimum draw down level of EL 41.15 m, is scheduled to be completed by March 2026.
The Jal Shakti Minister said the Polavaram Project Authority awarded the third party evaluation of the project to II T Hyderabad in August 2021. As per the report submitted by II T Hyderabad in November 2021, change of construction agency, slow progress in land acquisition and rehabilitation and resettlement, and the Covid 19 pandemic were identified to be the key reasons for the delay in the project, he said.