Hyderabad: Union water resources minister Nitin Gadkari on Tuesday assured the AP government that the Centre’s objection to fresh tenders for the Polavaram spillway and spill channel works will be withdrawn provided the state government agrees to bear the additional expenditure.
He held a high-level review meeting with officials from both the Union and AP water resources ministries on Tuesday night in Delhi, which was attended by AP Minister Devineni Uma Maheswara Rao.
Water resources ministry secretary Amarjit Singh had recently written to the AP government objecting to the manner in which the state has invited fresh tenders for part works related to the spill way and spill channel of the Polavaram dam, maintaining that this was not in tune with what the Centre and State governments had agreed to.
After much ado on the issue for a few days, Mr Devineni sought a meeting with Mr Gadkari to sort out the issue. AP Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu, who is currently visiting South Korea, spoke to Mr Gadkari on Tuesday evening and sought reimbursement of Rs 2,800 crore which was spent by the AP government on the Polavaram dam. Mr Gadkari reportedly told him he will consider it.
Saying he knows how to complete the project, Mr Gadkari said he will visit the project on December 22 and instructed the Polavaram authority office to be shifted to Rajamundry near the project site from Vijayawada and Hyderabad.
