Parliament Day 4: Centre Showing Step-Motherly Treatment To AP, Says YSRCP MP

PARLIAMENT MONSOON SESSIONS: The Centre was according step-motherly treatment to the State of Andhra Pradesh, said Rajya Sabha member Pilli Subhash Chandra Bose on Friday. Speaking to media outside Parliament  House on the fourth day of the Parliament Monsoon Sessions along with other YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) MPs, Subhash Chandra Bose said that the Centre seems to have forgotten that Polavaram is a national project.

The Central Government seems to be forgetting that Polavaram is a project with national status under the AP Reorganisation Act, 2014. Project Revised Estimates funds should be released immediately and it is very unfortunate that the Centre chose to put them on hold, he said. According to the revised estimates, the release of Rs 55,656.87 crore funds is pending with the Central government for more than two years.

The AP State government, which is the implementing agency, has repeatedly brought this issue of funding to the attention of the Center whenever the Hon'ble Chief Minister visits Delhi. The State Finance Minister Buggana Rajendranath has also repeatedly brought it to the attention of the Central Government. Similarly, YSR Congress Parliamentary Leader P Mithun Reddy in the Lok Sabha and YSR Congress Parliamentary Leader V Vijayasai Reddy in the Rajya Sabha has repeatedly met and explained to the concerned ministers, but it is very unfortunate that this project is being ignored, he said.

Despite the  approval of the Technical Committee, CBC, and PPA to approve the revised estimates of the Polavaram project, the Central Government is not responding resulting in delay in the completion of the Polavaram project, the Rajya Sabha MP said

The Polavaram project will provide freshwater supply to the city of Visakhapatnam and the surrounding villages.It is also wrong for the Center to state that it will give only Rs 4,000 crore in funding only for irrigation. The matter has been repeatedly brought to the attention of the Hon'ble Prime Minister.

The important aspects in the Polavaram project, i.e., Land Acquisition, R&R Package compensation should be cleared by the Center on the day the project is dedicated to the nation, he asked, only then will the Polavaram project be successfully completed.

AP CM YS Jagan Mohan Reddy has also promised that the Polavaram project will be dedicated to the nation by 2022, promising to provide water in Kharif from the project for the benefit of farmers.

The Polavaram Project Authority Administrative office is located at a distance of 500 km from the Polavaram Project in Hyderabad. An appeal was made to the Central Government to relocate the Polavaram Project Authority Office to Rajahmundry.

The YSRCP MPs have issued notices in the Rajya Sabha and the Lok Sabha seeking permission to discuss the Polavaram project construction and the delay in the release of funds as per the revised estimates. The Speaker of the Rajya Sabha, the Speaker of the Lok Sabha and the Minister of Parliamentary Affairs also agreed to discuss the issue.

Also Read: Centre Delaying Polavaram Funds: YSRCP MP Margani Bharat