Polavaram: Yet another blow to Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy and his government which had been dreaming of completing the Polavaram project by April 2022. It looks like the works will not be completed by the stipulated time and could extend inadvertently for a much longer time. Though it is not yet clear when they are likely to complete, and with third wave of Covid-10 pandemic staring at us, the delay could be very long then expected!
Polavaram
Earlier this year, Union Minister of State for Jal Shakti Rattan Lal Kataria has informed that Polavaram project will be completed by April, 2022, as per the revised schedule. Kataria said that though the Andhra Pradesh government informed that Polavaram Irrigation Project will be completed by December, 2021, in the 12th meeting of Polavaram Project Authority (PPA) held in April, 2020, a committee was constituted to study and come up with a project schedule and completion programme with proper planning duly backed with adequate resource mobilisation.
But that seems to be news from the past. Today it was made clear that the Polavaram project will get extended and will be not completed as scheduled. The Union Jal Shakti Ministry made a clear cut statement that the dam construction may miss yet another deadline. Citing technical reasons, the construction is getting delayed. “We have set a new target of April 2022 and hope to meet the deadline this time. But we faced difficulties in rehabilitation and compensation for the people. Covid-19 is also one of the reasons behind the delay,” read the written statement of the Union Jal Shakti Ministry.
Polavaram project question was shot by Teleugu Desam Party (TDP) Rajya Sabha MP Kanakamedala Ravindra Kumar. In reply to this question the Union government made a statement on Polavaram dam in the Parliament today and told that it was not being completed by April 2022! This is has further disappointed the people of AP as well as Jagan government!
The Union government made it clear that funds will be allocated only for the irrigation component of the Polavaram Irrigation Project (PIP). In a written reply to YSRC MP V Viajayasai Reddy’s question on Polavaram project funding in the Rajya Sabha on Monday, Minister of State for Jal Shakti Bisweshwar Tudu said the Advisory Committee in February 2019 had recommended Rs 55,548 crore as the second revised cost estimate of Polavaram project at the 2017-18 price level.