Chief Minister Y.S Jagan Mohan Reddy on Tuesday said that the Polavaram Multi Purpose Project would be operational before the onset of kharif operations in the year 2023.
While rounding off a short discussion on the construction of Polavaram Multi Purpose project in the Legislative Assembly, Mr. Jagan said most of the major components of the project had been completed.
“I am happy to announce before the August House that we are on the right track in completing the Polavaram project. We have completed the spillway, completed installation of 48 crest gates and got four cylinders fabricated, completed the upstream cofferdam and downstream cofferdam, the work on the power house has begun and the R & R package would also be implemented. All these works have been done without drum-beating like Mr. Chandrababu Naidu had done while he was in power spending a whopping ₹100 crore, in a publicity stunt. We have neither taken people nor engaged in publicity. We are awaiting for design approval from Central Water Commission and once we get the approvals, we will complete the project within 18 months,” said Mr. Jagan, who explained the various stages of construction through a power-point presentation.
Mr. Jagan said a statue of former Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy would be installed at the project.
“While we are working with various Central agencies to complete the project, a lifeline for the Godavari districts and main source for Visakhapatnam, Mr. Chandrababu Naidu had done nothing but indulged in a spree of events. We could see several stones erected at the site — one for commencement of construction of spillway gate, one stone for commencement of work relating to iconic bridge and cofferdam, one for completion of Diaphragm wall and one for spillway radial gate. All these stones were laid during 2016-2018,” the Chief Minister said.
Comparison
Mr. Jagan, through a presentation, compared the work before 2019 and the present status of work.. “The then (TDP) government never bothered to complete the works. Huge gaps were left in both upper and lower cofferdams resulting in the damage of the diaphragm wall of the project. Mr. Naidu handled the project without any planning and could be the worst-ever visionary in world history for creating a man-made disaster with the Polavaram Project. Whenever the issue of cost was raised while we were in Opposition, we were gagged,” he pointed out.
On the project finances, he alleged that the Opposition leader had compromised the Special Category Status and also agreed to construct Polavaram at the rates prevailing in the year 2014 for the sake of commissions. Although it was a national project, where every cost would be borne by the Centre, Mr. Naidu had taken it into his hands and ruined it by accepting the special package, he charged.
“We are still pursuing with the Centre to revise the project estimates. With this, the Centre had agreed to pay only ₹29,027 crore, while the escalated cost is around ₹55,000 crore,’’ Mr. Jagan said.
Further, the Chief Minister said the previous TDP government had completely abandoned the R&R works and started constructing cofferdam. The current government had relocated 27 of the 373 identified places, where 7,962 of 20,496 displaced families had been shifted to R&R colonies. Since 3,228 families had opted for OTS, houses for the remaining 17,268 families were being constructed, he said.
