VIJAYAWADA: YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) MPs alleged that the Central government was creating hurdles for the development of Andhra Pradesh by meting out step-motherly treatment to the state.
YSRCP MP (Rajya Sabha) Pilli Subhash Chandra Bose said the Centre seemed to have forgotten that Polavaram was a national project. He said YSRCP MPs had issued notices in the Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha seeking permission to discuss the Polavaram project construction and the delay in the release of funds as per the revised estimates.
Speaking to media outside Parliament House on the fourth day of the Monsoon Session of Parliament along with other YSRCP MPs, Subhash Chandra Bose said the revised estimates of funds for the project should be released immediately and it was very unfortunate that the Centre chose to put them on hold. He deplored that according to the revised estimates, the release of Rs 55,656.87 crore funds was pending with the Central government for more than two years.
Bose stated that the AP government, which was the implementing agency, had repeatedly brought this issue of funding to the attention of the Centre whenever Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy visited Delhi. State finance minister Buggana Rajendranath had also repeatedly brought it to the notice of the Central government and similarly, YSRCP Parliamentary Party leaders P. Mithun Reddy, V. Vijayasai Reddy repeatedly explained the issue to the concerned ministers, but it was very unfortunate that the project was being ignored, he added.
Bose deplored that despite the approval of the technical committee, CBC, and PPA for revised estimates of the Polavaram project, the Central government was not responding, resulting in the delay in the completion of the Polavaram project.
He explained that the Polavaram project would provide drinking water supply to the city of Visakhapatnam and surrounding villages. It was also wrong on the part of the Centre to state that it would give only Rs 4,000 crore funding only for irrigation, he said and recalled that the matter had been repeatedly brought to the attention of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
MP Vanga Geetha recalled that Modi during his meeting in Tirupati gave assurances of Polavaram but the Union government failed to fulfil its assurance. She further recalled that bifurcation assurances were given in Parliament during the time of united AP bifurcation but the Central government did not honour those assurances which showed that the Union government was shunning democratic values.
MP Nandigam Suresh said the Polavaram Project Authority Administrative office was located at a distance of 500 km from the Polavaram project in Hyderabad, hence an appeal was made to the Central government to relocate it to Rajamahendravaram.
