Rs 115 cr released for Polavaram-affected persons

Vijayawada: Andhra Pradesh irrigation minister D Umamaheswara Rao on Tuesday said the state Government had released Rs 115 crore for the rehabilitation of those displaced by the Polavaram irrigation project in the East and West Godavari districts.

East Godavari district will get Rs 55 crore while the West Godavari will receive Rs 60 crore. An IAS officer had been nominated to look after the rehabilitation scheme, he added.

Pumping of water from all the 24 pumps at Pattiseem lift irrigation project to divert the Godavari water to Krishna river to meet the requirement of Krishna delta in the coming Kharif season will be possible by March-end, he said. Under Telugu Ganga project, the government was supplying water for 9.73 lakh acres in Nellore district. The irrigation department had proposed to increase storage capacity of the Kandaleu reservoir in Nellore district with an estimated cost of Rs 320 cr.

PTI