Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, CM YS Jagan Mohan Reddy to visit Polavaram on March 4

Vijayawada: Union Jal Shakti Minister, Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, accompanied by Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy along with senior officials of his ministry, will be visiting the Polavaram project on March 4 for an update on the ongoing works.

The Union minister and the Chief Minister will hold a review meeting with the officials of Polavaram Project Authority (PPA), and state water resources ministry on the pending issues to expedite dam works.

The AP government had also sought earlier approval of revised cost estimates for the project, which had been already cleared by the technical advisory committee and Central Water Commission (CWC). The revised estimated cost approved by CWC for the year 2017–18 is at Rs 55,548.87 crore and is pending investment clearance and release of funds.

The state government has been appealing to the CWC to get the pending designs approved on a war footing. It may be recalled that the Chief Minister met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in January and the YSRCP MPs also held a meeting with him during the budget session seeking to release pending funds and expedite the project.

Union minister Shekhawat will fly to Vijayawada from Delhi on March 3. He will reach Polavaram along with the CM in a helicopter from Vijayawada in the morning and inspect the project works on March 4.

The Jal Shakti minister will first go through a photo exhibition arranged at the spillway about the progress of the Polavaram project. He will later visit the fish ladder works and guide bund works. Later, he will inspect the powerhouse, lower cofferdam works, Gap III works, radial gate works, which will be followed by a review of the ongoing works. The minister will hold discussions on upper cofferdam works and earth cum rock fill (ECRF) dam works.