Irrigation projects take back seat in Andhra Pradesh: Congress

Vijayawada: Andhra Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) president Dr Sake Sailajanath assailed the State government for giving least priority to the irrigation projects across the State.

The Chief Minister miserably failed to get sufficient funds for the completion of the Polavaram project which he promised to complete by 2022.

The YSRCP MPs failed to raise the Polavaram Project issue during the winter session of Parliament and demand funds for execution of works, he lamented.

The project work was going on at a snail's pace and even one fourth of the rehabilitation and resettlement work was not completed. According to the report issued by the State government, the R & R work was completed only by 20.19%.

In a statement released from Andhra Ratna Bhavan here, the PCC president said that apart from the R&R package, the project work is not moving forward. As per the revised project estimates, Rs 47,725 crore was necessary for the completion of the project and so far only Rs 6,654 crore was spent on the project.

The displaced persons needed to be paid Rs 8,112 crore. However, so far Rs 580 crore was paid to them. For other infrastructure, only Rs 800 crore was spent as against the demand of Rs 13,212 crore.

The PCC chief recalled that the project work gained momentum during the Congress regime and later the subsequent governments neglected it. He demanded that the government expedite the works of the Polavaram project and complete it immediately by providing relief and rehabilitation package to the displaced persons.