Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy told officials of the Water Resources Department (WRD) to focus on speedy execution of the Polavaram project by giving due importance to the left main canal works and filling the gaps in the Earth-Cum-Rock Fill (ECRF) dam. He also insisted that other major pending projects like Vamsadhara, Thotapalli and Veligonda should be expedited in order to cater to the growing irrigation requirements at the earliest.
Addressing a review meeting on the WRD at his camp office on Monday, Mr. Jagan Mohan Reddy said the progress of works should be taken stock of every fortnight so that the delays could be covered and wanted an action plan for it to be prepared.
Officials told the Chief Minister that sand-filling and vibro-compaction of the first gap in the ECRF dam were finished and the same was being done to fill the second gap at a fast pace. They stated that water was released as per the prefixed calendar in Godavari and Krishna deltas and under the Thotapalli project.
As far as the Polavaram project was concerned, a committee of experts visited the project site where the guide bund had sunk, and reached a preliminary conclusion that it could be due to the soil nature. They suggested that the damaged portion be repaired by filling it with rock dump and cement slurry and providing support with gabions.
Further, the officials said various Central government departments connected to the Polavaram project were in the process of preparing the Cabinet note for sanctioning ₹12,911.15 crore for the Polavaram project.
Mr. Jagan Mohan Reddy said the WRD officials should concentrate on expediting the Veligonda, Vamsadhara and Owk tunnel works which figure in the list of prioritized projects. The officials told him that the Owk tunnel construction was almost completed except the lining works. The project was on course to be inaugurated in August.
Emphasis had been laid on other projects in the parched Rayalaseema region. Nearly 93% of the Poola Subbaiah Veligonda project was finished and it was poised to be made operational soon. The distributary network of Stage-2 of Phase-2 of Vamsadhara project was in progress and efforts were being made to lift water from the Gotta barrage into the Hiramandalam reservoir. The Kuppam branch canal was also in advanced stages of execution, the officials added. Principal secretary (WRD) Sashibhushan Kumar and engineer-in-chief C. Narayana Reddy were present.
