5 years for Polavaram project, promises Centre
Uma Bharati says resettlement of displaced to be as per norms
Hyderabad: Union water resources minister Uma Bharati on Thursday announced in Lok Sabha that the Polavaram project in Andhra Pradesh would be completed within five years from the day of its announcement by the Centre as national project in 2014.
“There is no slow down of construction. It will be completed on time and the Centre is particular about releasing additional funds to the project for early completion,” Uma Bharati told YSR Congress member Kottapalli Geetha.
The Union minister reminded the member that it was she who went to Niti Aayog with a request not to reduce the allotment to Polavaram project.
She said Centre is equally concerned about completion of the dam like the AP government and its Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu.
The minister said the Centre is equally particular about ensuring resettlement and rehabilitation of all to those people who will be displaced and said “someone has to make sacrifices for a good project. We cannot avoid that”.
The minister earlier informed the House that the Polavaram project is likely to displace about 1.88 lakh people in 222 villages, but so far 1,730 people in six villages have been rehabilitated.
She said, so far, Rs 5,575.35 crore expenditure has been incurred. The project is expected to irrigate 2.91 lakh hectares, generate 960 MW of hydel power, provide 24 TMC ft of water for industrial use. It will also divert 80 TMC ft of Godavari water to the Krishna Basin, apart from stabilising 10 lakh acres of existing Godavari Delta.
Members from Telangana, Professor Sitaram Naik, A.P. Jitender Reddy (TRS) and Gutta Sukhender Reddy (Congress), asked the minister about the measures taken up for rehabilitation and resettlement of thousands of tribal people and demanded it should be done applying the new Land Acquisition Act provisions. Responding to that, Ms Bharati said everything will be done as per norms and no deviation will be allowed.