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Andhra Pradesh: Centre to provide ₹17,144 crore for long-pending Polavaram Project

The party extended heartfelt gratitude to Union Minister Gajendra Shekhawat and the Ministry of Jal Shakti for their support on the matter.

ByRaj Rayasam

Published Jun 02, 2023 | 10:37 PM ⚊UpdatedJun 02, 2023 | 10:37 PM

The first foundation stone laying happened all the way back in 1980. (Wikimedia Commons)

The jinx that had settled over the Polavaram Multipurpose Project works on the mighty Godavari river in Eluru district in Andhra Pradesh seems to be lifting. The Centre has consented to the release ad hoc assistance of ₹17,144 crore for the project.

The YSRCP, in a tweet, on Friday, 2 June, said, “We are delighted to announce that the Ministry of Jal Shakti has agreed to provide ad hoc assistance of ₹17,144 crore for the Polavaram Project works. This significant development is a testament to the relentless efforts of CM YS Jagan Mohan Reddy for the welfare of our people.”

The party also said it was extending heartfelt gratitude to Union Minister Gajendra Shekhawat and the Ministry of Jal Shakti for their support and recognition of the importance of the Polavaram project. Together, we will ensure a brighter future for Andhra Pradesh, the party said.

Incredible news for Andhra Pradesh!

We are delighted to announce that the Ministry of Jal Shakti has agreed to provide ad hoc assistance of ₹17,144 crore for the Polavaram project works. This significant development is a testament to the relentless efforts of CM YS Jagan Mohan…

— YSR Congress Party (@YSRCParty) June 2, 2023

Also Read: Polavaram funds take centre stage as Jagan meets PM Modi

Hopeful of a favourable decision

The suspense has been continuing for the last few days over the fate of the state government proposal for the grant for the first phase of the works of the Polavaram Project, touted as the lifeline of Andhra Pradesh.

The state government began entertaining hopes of a favourable decision after the Jal Shakti Ministry conducted a meeting on Thursday where the state put forth its revised proposal for ad hoc grant to kickstart the works of the project.

Andhra Pradesh Engineer-in-Chief Narayan Reddy, after the meeting, said that the Centre appeared favourable to the the state’s proposal for ₹17,144 crore. He also said that the Centre asked the state to complete the project by June 2024.

Also Read: Polavaram project: Notices issued for environmental violations

History of the project

Spillway Polavaram Head Works. (Wikimedia Commons)

Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, during his recent visit to Delhi, is understood to have raised the issue of the Polavaram Project with the BJP top brass, including Union Home Minister Amit Shah.

The project is sacrosanct for all political parties in Andhra Pradesh. The Centre declared that it had been financing the project after the bifurcation of the state in 2014, but works remained embroiled in one controversy or the other during the erstwhile TDP regime.

Though the foundation stone was laid for the project as far back as 1980, the project acquired momentum only when YS Rajasekhara Reddy laid the foundation stone with an estimated cost of ₹8,261 crore in 2004, after taking over as the chief minister of erstwhile united Andhra Pradesh.

Also Read: Polavaram Project: Why do AP, Telangana ministers clash over it?

Only 30% completed during TDP regime

Then came another long delay and after the division of the state in 2014, the project’s works began under the then chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu.

As it was a national project, the Polavaram Project Authority was created to supervise the progress of the works. When Naidu demitted office in 2019, only 30 percent of the project’s head works had been completed.

From 2014 till December 2022, the cost incurred on the project was shown as ₹16,035.88 crore, but the Centre released only ₹13,226.04 crores to the state, as the latter executed the project under an agreement struck with the Centre by Naidu.