Gadkari Polavaram visit on July 11

Amaravati: Union Minister of Road Transport and Water Resources Nitin Gadkari will visit Polavaram dam site  on July 11. The Chief Minister’s Office as well as the Minister for Water Resources Devineni Umamaheswara Rao confirmed this during the virtual review meeting on the progress of the Polavaram Irrigation Project, on Monday at Secretariat.

Meanwhile, Chandrababu Naidu instructed Secretary Shashi Bhushan to prepare details of required funds from the Centre at regular intervals, corresponding to a diligent record of the expenditure in the Polavaram Irrigation Project.

The Chief Minister said that the state government was making efforts to complete the world second largest Polavaram project as per schedule.
Umamaheswara Rao said 56 per cent of project works were completed so far and the crest gates erection would be commenced by September.

During a press conference after attending the review meeting, the Minister said 42.16 per cent of head works, 40.65 per cent of main dam package works, 75.80 per cent of excavation works, 28.40 per cent concrete works, 61.30 per cent of radial gates works, 100 per cent diaphragm wall works, 90.70 per cent of jet grouting works, 58.32 per cent connectivity packages, 90 per cent of right main canal works and 61.67 per cent of left main canal works were completed so far.

Rao said the diaphragm wall concreting works were completed on a length of 1,396.6 metres in a record time. He said the down-stream coffer dam works would be completed by next Monday.

The minister said that the total expenditure of the project so far stands at Rs 13,798 crore. After declaring it as a national project, the Central government reimbursed Rs 6,727 crore against Rs 8662 crore and the state government has to get Rs 1,935 crore by end of May.

In addition, the state government spent Rs 300 crore by end of June. He said necessary bills of the project were already sent to Polavaram Development Authority. Umamaheswara Rao suggested opposition leader YS Jaganmohan Reddy to see the development that took place through the Pattiseema Lift Irrigation project, instead of making baseless criticism on government.

He explained that government was able to provide water through Pattiseema for fourth consecutive agriculture year. People are not believing the misleading statements of Jaganmohan Reddy and his party leaders, he added.

Refusing the claims of BJP leaders on release of Polavaram funds, the Minister explained that they were just making such misleading statements for political mileage. 

“The facts are different than the claims of BJP leaders. Everything is transparent. All the updated information is available on the public domain, government websites. They can check the dues of Central government to state government”, he added.