Visakhapatnam: Andhra Pradesh irrigation minister Devineni Umamaheswara Rao said that Polavaram multi-purpose project would be built and dedicated to the nation within four years. Talking to media here on Friday after a review meeting on various pending irrigation projects in north Andhra with political leaders and officials of Visakhapatnam, Vizianagaram and Srikakulam districts, Mr Umamaheswara Rao said the Telugu Desam will complete all the major and medium irrigation projects with funds from the Centre and state government.
It is estimated that about Rs2,000 crore is require for completion of 13 major and medium irrigation projects in North Andhra and TDP also committed to complete the much needed Uttarandhra Sujala Sravanthi project to cater the needs of north Andhra people, the minister mentioned.
Slamming the Congress for its failure to complete the pending irrigation projects and looting crores of rupees of the public money in the name of Jalayagnam, Polavaram and few other irrigation projects, Rao expressed that many irregularities that took place in the awarding of contracts for many irrigation projects during the last 10 years.
TDP will review the status of all the pending irrigation projects and also will release a white paper on the irrigation projects, pending projects and few others taken up during Congress regime on June 14. Replying a query on the hurdles for completion of Polavaram project, Rao opined the government will leave no stone unturned to implement the R&R measures effectively and ensure that no tribal suffers.
Polavaram project benefits irrigation to the upland areas of around 7.2 lakh acres in Andhra Pradesh and Odisha and Chhattisgarh states will get 5 and 1.5 TMC water respectively with this project, he added.
Pulichintala project was dedicated by the nation by the then Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy in a hasty manner, without completing the major works and assured that TDP to finish the rest of work of the project at the earliest. We will visit Pullichintala and Polavaram project sites on June 15 and 16 respectively to review the projects and also effort would be made to impound around 42 TMC of water at Pullichintala project for irrigation facilities says Rao.
