Naidu seeks Centre nod for ₹12,500-cr proposals

New Delhi : Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, who is on a two-day visit to Delhi, called on Union Jal Shakti Minister C R Patil and submitted a detailed memorandum on the status of the Polavaram project.

Naidu, who had a 50-minute meeting with Patil, urged the Union Minister to give his nod for the Rs 12,500-crore proposals for implementing R&R package for the people who have been displaced by the project. He also urged the minister to see that the proposal for setting up an investment board for Polavaram which has been pending for a long time gets the approval of the Union Cabinet at the earliest. He emphasized on the need to restart Polavaram project works in mission mode from November. He also explained to the minister about the damage caused to the diaphragm wall of the project and informed him that the experts had advised reconstruction of the diaphragm wall afresh.

Naidu will be meeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday evening. Apart from explaining the status of the Polavaram project, the CM is likely to urge the Prime Minister to exempt AP from giving matching grant to the World Bank loan of Rs 15,000 crore for developing capital city of Amaravati in view of the critical financial situation the state had inherited from the YSRCP government.

He is also likely to urge the Centre to reschedule the repayment of the loans taken by the previous government. The other issues on Naidu’s wish-list are release of funds for backward development districts.

Later in the evening, Naidu hosted dinner for the TDP-led NDA alliance MPs.