Vijayawada: Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy on Tuesday reiterated that the Polavaram Project will be completed by Kharif, 2023. During a short discussion in Assembly on Tuesday he assured that the project’s height would not be reduced.

           My father and former Chief Minister YS Rajasekhara Reddy’s dream is completing the Polavaram project. As his son, I am determined to complete it, he added. A statue of YSR would be installed at the project site.

Addressing the State Assembly, he said on the Polavaram Project, Jagan blamed the previous TDP regime’s irresponsible and clueless decisions for the delay. He said his Government has expedited Andhra’s lifeline project. CM Jagan said the project would be completed in 18 months once the Central Water Commission cleared its design. Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, the Union Minister for Jal Shakti, has assured to clear the designs by this month-end. The Rehabilitation and Relocation (R&R) works would be completed on time, he announced.

Emphasizing that any project has to be implemented in a planned manner, Jagan explained how it had to be prioritized. As per Polavaram’s approved design, two-kilometer Wide River has to be diverted through spill channel to construct cofferdam upstream and downstream of the main earth-cum-rock-fill (ECRF) dam. The works should be taken up in an orderly manner. The spill should have been constructed first, he said, adding that the previous TDP regime executed the project haphazardly, leaving everything incomplete. The lack of proper planning also caused damage to key components during the floods, he alleged.

The construction of coffer and ECRF dams were taken up before completing the spillway. After realizing that villages upstream would be inundated once cofferdams are constructed, the works were left midway since R&R was not taken up, he pointed out in a PowerPoint presentation. The gaps in the upper and lower cofferdams led to financial loss, besides delaying the project. Floodwaters that gushed in through the gaps damaged the diaphragm walls and lower cofferdam, warranting a redesign of the plan.

Besides compromising on the Special Category Status, the opposition leader, when in power, agreed to construct Polavaram at 2014 prices for bagging commissions, Jagan alleged. Although it was a national project, where every cost would be borne by the Centre, Naidu accepted the special package. With this, the Centre agreed to pay only Rs 29,027 crore, while the escalated cost was around Rs 55,000 crore, he added. Today we are still pursuing the issue with the Central Government to get the project completed and ensure justice to the displaced.