Former MP and senior Congress leader KVP Ramachandra Rao has written a letter to Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan. In that letter, KVP asked CM Jagan not to agree to reduce the height of the Polavaram project even if it puts pressure on the Centre.
First Published Mar 15, 2023, 4:38 PM IST
Former MP and senior Congress leader KVP Ramachandra Rao has written a letter to Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan. In that letter, KVP asked CM Jagan not to agree to reduce the height of the Polavaram project even if it puts pressure on the Centre. It is known that KVP has already written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the issue of Polavaram project. However, in a recent letter to CM Jagan, he stated that reducing the height of the Polavaram project will not fulfill the purpose of the project. He said that compromising with the center is like betraying the state.
Jagan reminded that former Chief Minister YS Rajasekhara Reddy worked to construct the Polavaram project at a level of +150 feet as per the permissions given by the Central Water Corporation (CWC) in 1980 after the approval of the Godavari Tribunal. He said that even the government administration is unable to say when the Polavaram project will be completed. He said that it is sad that there is a serious delay in the works of YSR’s dream project to irrigate Rayalaseema and Visakhapatnam along with Krishna and Godavari deltas.
“During the bifurcation of the state, the Polavaram project was declared as a national project and its entire cost will be borne by the Centre. However, the Modi government has decided to hand over the construction of the project to the state government. This was welcomed by the previous government led by Chandrababu Naidu. When you (Jagan) formed the government.. people like me thought that the construction of the project would be handed over to the Polavaram Project Authority (PPA). There would be no financial burden on the state. But that didn’t happen,” said KVP.
KVP said that after the state took up the construction of the project, the Center has become inactive in the release of funds, resolution of objections raised by other states and DPR clearance. About Rs 30,000 crore is required for land acquisition and R&R package. But the Center is acting as if it has nothing to do with it. In view of the financial situation, the state is not in a position to undertake the project on its own,” KVP said in the letter.
In the letter, KVP expressed concern over reports that the YS Jagan government is inclined to accept the Centre’s suggestion to reduce the height of the project to +140 as the state is facing shortage of funds. He said that if the height of the project is less than +150 feet FRL.. there is no possibility to store water in the project.. it will not serve the intended purpose. He said that the Center is making such a suggestion to avoid the responsibility of paying large amount of funds for relief and rehabilitation programs in the contour between 140 to 150 feet.
He said that the entire cost of the Polavaram project should be borne by the Centre. He said that he had also filed a petition in the High Court in 2017 for this. He said that since the state government has not yet filed a counter in this case, the investigation has been pending for the last five and a half years. Jagan was asked not to accept the height reduction of the project under any circumstances even if the Center puts pressure on him.
