Ambati Rambabu blames TDP for Polavaram project delay

Vijayawada: Minister for irrigation Ambati Rambabu said the state government is committed to complete the Polavaram irrigation project.

Speaking to media at party central office at Tadepalli on Friday, the minister said that the damage to the diaphragm wall and cofferdam of the project was caused due to the corruption by the previous TDP government. He said the previous government used to have commission agents, which led to poor quality in the works of the project.

In regard to rehabilitation and resettlement (R&R) works, Rambabu said the decision to complete R&R works in phases was taken by the Central Water Commission (CWC) along with Polavaram Project Authority and the state government is implementing the recommendations.

He said it is technically wrong to fill water at the total capacity of 45.72 metre and then start rehabilitation works under Polavaram project. He said CWC has decided to fill water at the capacity of 41.15 metre and complete rehabilitation in submerged villages and then gradually increase the capacity of water and complete the rehabilitation works.

The minister said an additional amount of Rs 800 crore needs to be spent on the project because of the wrongdoings of the previous TDP government and added that a section of media never reported it. He said the works should be taken up in an orderly manner and the spillway should have been constructed first, but the previous government executed the project in a haphazard manner, leaving everything incomplete. The lack of proper planning and floods caused damage to the project resulting in additional expenditure, he said adding that this is first time it happened in the world and former chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu should be held responsible for it.