VIJAYAWADA: Designs for the new Diaphragm Wall of the Polavaram Irrigation Project are expected to be approved by November 25 this year and the works are likely to commence from the end of December or January next year. According to sources, the new D-Wall, which is estimated to cost around Rs 900 crore, will be executed by German company Bauer Group and it is expected to be completed by March 2026, if not December 2025.
Polavaram project officials expect that if climate permits, the works can be executed swiftly. They are expecting normal flood days in the Godavari River next season. However, to be on the safe side, the increase in flood days is also taken into consideration before finalising the work schedule.
The international experts’ team which studied the scoured portions of the project and other aspects, is likely to examine and submit its recommendations to the Central Water Commission (CWC) for its approval for the Earth Cum Rock Fill (ECRF) Dam by February.
Works for Gap 1 of the ECRF Dam are likely to be taken up in March next year and Gap 2 in November. In other words, both the D-Wall and the ECRF of the project will be taken up simultaneously
Decisions to this effect were taken during the workshop held on technical aspects of Polavaram, where the international team of experts explained the finer points of technical details to the project officials and those associated with the project Following his visit to the Polavaram project, after the formation of the new government, Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu released a white paper on June 28, and squarely blamed YSRC president and former Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy for the delay in completing the irrigation project.
Naidu attributed the damage caused to the D-Wall and the leaks in the cofferdams to the ‘ignorant decisions’ taken by the previous government.
He stated that changing contract agencies and transferring experienced officials during the execution of crucial works on the upper cofferdam resulted in a gap in the project, which further proved fatal during the floods in 2019 and 2020.
In August last week this year, the Union Cabinet sanctioned Rs 12,157 crore for completing Phase-1 works of the Polavaram Irrigation Project. It has been estimated that Rs 30,436.95 crore is required for Phase-1 of the project.
The State government had spent Rs 4,730.71 crore before it was declared as a national project. After considering the State’s contribution, a sum of Rs 25,706 crore is to be paid by the Centre. So far, Rs 15,146 crore has been released. As the State government spent Rs 1,095 crore on land acquisition and compensation, the Centre has now approved the sanction of the remaining Rs 12,157 crore. Of the total, Rs 6,000 crore will be released in 2024-25, and the remaining Rs 6,157 crore in 2025-26, official sources said.