Grave mistakes committed by the TDP and YSRCP governments, which ruled Andhra Pradesh after its bifurcation, have landed the Polavaram project in a complete mess, says veteran Congress leader and former Rajya Sabha member K.V.P. Ramachandra Rao.
Speaking to The Hindu on July 3 (Wednesday), Mr. Rao, who had been fighting for completion of the crucial project by taking to legal recourse, said the Chandrababu Naidu government made, perhaps, the gravest mistake by taking the project into its hands while his successor Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy further compounded the problem.
“Polavaram is a difficult project with many critical issues. It ought to be completed by the Centre, which has better reach and resources. The Centre is also better equipped to handle inter-State disputes with Odisha and Chhattisgarh,” Mr. Rao said.
“Section 90 of the A.P. State Reorganisation Act mandates that the construction of Polavaram project is the responsibility of Central government, and that it shall be executed on expedient public interest,” he said. Probably, for the first time in the country, Polavaram Project Authority (PPA), an exclusive authority for construction of Polavaram, was constituted, he said.
What UPA promised
He recalled that the UPA Cabinet, in a meeting on May 1, 2014, had taken a decision to bear the entire cost of the Polavaram project, including escalations due to cost and time overruns, and also escalation due to new Land Acquisition Act, and the expenditure on Rehabilitation and Resettlement of the project-displaced families. It was also decided to complete the project by December 2018.
In September 2016, the NDA government had suddenly announced, in violation of the Reorganisation Act, that it had accepted the then AP government’s request, on the advice of NITI Aayog, and had shifted the task of executing the project to the State, Mr. Rao recounted.
Centre’s condition
The Centre also imposed a condition that it would bear the cost of the project as per the rates prevailing as on April 1, 2014 only. Also, it stipulated that the State shall incur the expenditure on the project initially from its own resources, and later get it reimbursed from the Central government.
“How can NITI Aayog advise the government to violate an Act passed by Parliament and how can the government accept it are the moot questions,” he wondered.
The national irrigation project under construction on the Godavari is a unique project. It is the first river-linking project involving major rivers of Godavari and Krishna. The Polavaram link diverts 80 TMC water from the Godavari to the Krishna, thus saving Krishna water upstream of Nagarjuna Sagar to fulfil the drinking water and irrigation needs of the drought-prone Rayalaseema area in Andhra Pradesh, besides allowing additional use of Krishna waters in Maharashtra and Karnataka.
Progress during YSR term
Mr. Rao said that during the Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy’s tenure, a major part in the right and left canals of Polavaram had been completed and the head work contracts awarded.
“Almost all statutory clearances had been obtained during YSR tenure and proposals to the Central Government sent for according it the status of a national project,” Mr. Rao informed, adding that the Congress government had spent ₹5,136 crore on the project till March, 2014.
Citing multiple issues that had complicated the project, Mr. Rao urged the Centre to implement Section 90 of the Act in letter and spirit, and take up the entire responsibility of Polavaram project, including its execution and total cost-bearing, and ensure its completion at the earliest possible time.
