Centre should release funds for Polavaram

Eluru: CPI State secretary K Ramakrishna demanded that the Centre should release funds as requested by AP government to complete the Polavaram Project. He warned that if the Centre failed to release the funds, the CPI will take up direct fight against the Centre.
The CPI team led by Ramakrishna visited Polavaram Project on Saturday.

Highlights:

• CPI leaders led by their State secretary K Ramakrishna visit Pattiseema Lift Irrigation Scheme and Polavaram Project
• Ramakrishna says it is the Centre’s responsibility to complete the Polavaram Project as per AP Reorganisation Act-2013

Addressing the media at the project site, the CPI State secretary demanded that Union Water Resources Minister Nitin Gadkari who is scheduled to visit the project site on December 23 should announce the Centre’s decision on the project funding.

He said that Polavaram project is the dream of Andhra Pradesh people. The Project will meet the irrigation and drinking water requirements of the State besides producing 960 MW of power. He pointed out that Krishna-Godavari rivers linkage was possible through the project.

He said that over the last 20 days, the BJP and TDP leaders were making different statements on the project even though it was a national project according to the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act. He alleged that the Centre was willfully ignoring the assurances made during the bifurcation of the State.

The Centre so far failed to sanction a separate railway zone for AP and now it has cancelled the Kakinada-Pithapuram railway line. “The State government has decided to supply water by constructing a cofferdam as part of the Polavaram Project. However, the Centre has started raising queries to release funds.

If the Union Minister for Water Resources Nitin Gadkari did not announce reimbursement of funds that were spent by the State government, the CPI will launch a direct fight against the Centre with the support of other Left parties”, he warned.

He expressed anger over the Centre’s attitude in sanctioning funds. He pointed out that the State has requested release of Rs 2,800 crore that were spent on Polavaram project. However, the Centre has sanctioned only Rs 318 crore recently and described it as an eyewash.

He alleged that the Centre was trying to avoid the payment of compensation of Rs 32,000 crore to the displaced people. He pointed out that the completion of the project was the Centre’s responsibility besides resolving the problems of the project displaced persons.

Earlier, members of the CPI team visited Pattiseema Lift Irrigation Scheme and asked the engineers on the project. Later they reached Polavaram main project area and inspected the spillway, diaphragm wall and concrete works. They also visited the area where the cofferdam works are in progress. Chief Engineer V S Ramesh Babu explained the ongoing works through power point presentation to the team.

The Chief Engineer said that the lower cofferdam works have been started and a Central team will visit the project and decide on the upper cofferdam construction. He also clarified that there were no objections to continuing the Transstroy contract.

AITUC State general secretary Obulesu, CPI state assistant secretaries Muppalla Nageswara Rao, J V Satyanarayana Murthy, former MLC Jalli Wilson, Akhila Bharata Rythu Sangham vice-president Ravula Venkayya, AP Rythu Sangham president and secretaries P Ramchandraiah, Prasad, Chalasani Venkata Rama Rao, CPI Godavari districts committees secretaries Dega Prabhakar and Tatipaka Madhu took part in the tour.