AP Govt Submits Polavaram Revised Cost Estimates To Jal Shakthi Ministry

NEW DELHI: Andhra Pradesh Minister For Finance, Buggana Rajendranath Reddy and Irrigation Minister Anil Kumar Yadav met  and submitted  a memorandum to the Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat on Friday, with regards to the Revised Cost Estimates (RCE) of the Polavaram project at 2017-18 price level.

Speaking to the media after the meeting, Anil Kumar Yadav said that the Central Minister has responded favourably to the AP government’s request. “The Union Minister accepted our invitation and agreed to visit the Polavaram Project in the next 15 days,” he mentioned.  

The Irrigation Minister said that the Government was in the process of setting right the issues, which were made during TDP Chief N Chandrababu Naidu's reign. The Minister said that a Memorandum to the Union Minister with the RCE for the construction of the Polavaram project  was submitted for his approval, to which the Jal Shakti Minister has responded positively.

Anil Kumar said, ''We have been meeting Union Ministers and officials from various departments since the past three days. Today we met the Central Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat and submitted a representation by our Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy to approve the revised estimates of the Polavaram project. The Minister said that he had a clear understanding on these issues and promised to act upon it soon," he said.

 "As part of the memorandum we have also requested that the component related to drinking water in the Polavaram project, which was earlier removed, be added under Section 14 of the Act,'' he said.

The Minister also said that he would do the needful about the Rehabilitation and Resettlement (R&R) component package, as stated in the revised estimates.

The Central Minister had heeded our request to visit Polavaram in the coming two weeks to see the progress of the Polavaram dam construction as well as the work related to R&R.

The Union Minister also said that they would coordinate with the Polavaram Project Authority and Central Water Commission and follow their guidelines to settle the issues.

AP Finance Minister Buggana Rajendranath  assured that the Polavaram project would be completed on time, which was declared a national project under the AP Reorganisation  Act of 2014. He said that it was the Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy and the Government's endeavour to complete the project on time. The Finance Minister explained that the entire exercise of the RCE was because Chandrababu Naidu had entered into a special agreement under special Package Scheme on September 8, 2016. As part of that deal in 2016 the original facilities were altered causing various issues, which we have resolved step-by-step, he explained. We are giving high priority to the Polavaram Project for which the State Government is earnestly working to complete by 2021, he concluded.