Hyderabad: Union water resources minister Uma Bharathi on Saturday dropped a bomb shell on the ongoing multi-purpose Polavaram irrigation project. She said that she needed to discuss with AP Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu about the project funding and extension of timeline for the completion of the project beyond 2019.
CM Naidu and irrigation minister Devineni Uma Maheswara Rao hitherto had been making public statements regarding the completion of Polavaram State-1 by 2018 and total completion by 2019.
In the AP Reorganisation Act, the Polavaram scheme was specially mentioned as a national project with 100 per cent funding by the Centre. The Union government has also constituted the Polavaram Project Authority and has allotted Rs 500 crore in the last two budgets.
As per the revised project report being submitted to the Centre by the AP Government, a total investment of Rs 30,000 crore is needed to complete the works. Out of this Rs 5, 000 crore was spent during the Congress regime by 2014.
In a media conference held by the Union minister on Saturday in Delhi, when the issue of completion of the Polavaram dam as well as release of substantial funds by the Centre came up, Ms Bharathi said that she had invited Mr Chandrababu Naidu to come to Delhi and discuss various issues concerning the project including deciding a fresh timeline for its completion.
Without providing any details the minister said, “There are certain issues causing hurdles for completion of Polavaram on schedule, we are forced to extend the time line, I will discuss with Chandrababu Naidu and fix a fresh timeline for the project; we have already provided ' 500 crore for the works which are just not sufficient, I am very much pained about the allocation of meagre funds for Polavaram; we will approach NITI Ayog for further assisting with Rs 1,600 crore for the works, but we should put this on fast-track but for that I need to discuss with Chandrababu,” she said.
Replying to a question, the minister said that the Union Water Resources Ministry would study and implement the expertise of Israel for water utilisation.
