CM Chandrababu awaits Centre's help for completion of Polavaram

 July 30 (IANS) After extracting an assurance from the Centre in the Union Budget for financing and early competition of the Polavaram project, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister, N Chandrababu Union is now waiting for a categorical announcement on the quantum of money for the irrigation project, which is expected to serve as the lifeline of the state. The assurance in the Union Budget has raised hopes of early resumption of the work on the project across Godavari, which is the second top priority of CM Naidu after capital Amaravati. Both the projects found mention in Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s budget speech. For Amaravati, she announced that the Centre will facilitate special financial support through multilateral development agencies. “In the current financial year Rs. 15,000 crore will be arranged, with additional amounts in future years,” she said. However, no specific announcement was made for Polavaram, which was already declared a national project. “Our government is fully committed to financing and early completion of the Polavaram Irrigation Project, which is the lifeline for Andhra Pradesh and its farmers. This will facilitate our country’s food security as well,” she said. Naidu, who is leading the NDA government in the state and is a key ally in the BJP-led coalition at the Centre, is satisfied that the Centre has taken the responsibility of completing the project. A dream of people of the region since 1941, Polavaram is perhaps the most jinxed project in the country. The future of the Rs.55,000 crore multipurpose project still hangs in the balance due to the alleged mismanagement during the last five years and also damages it suffered in 2019-20 due to floods. Amaravati and Polavaram are the two tasks which Naidu could not accomplish in his earlier stint as the Chief Minister of bifurcated Andhra Pradesh (2014-19). While Amaravati is his brainchild, Polavaram is a long-pending project. Soon after assuming office last month, he declared them as his priorities. He blamed his predecessor YS Jagan Mohan Reddy for killing Amaravati and also held him responsible for alleged mismanagement of the Polavaram project, leading to delays and damages and resulting in cumulative loss of Rs 52,900 crore. According to CM Naidu, the losses during YSRCP rule were Rs.45,000 crore due to delay in supplying water to ayacut areas. The losses on account of damages and repair were Rs.4,900 crore. The delay in hydel power generation resulted in loss of Rs.3,000 crore. CM Naidu personally visited Polavaram last month to review the status of the work and this month he released a White Paper on the project. CM Naidu called Jagan a ‘curse’ that stalled the Rs 55,548 crore multipurpose national project. An expenditure of Rs.16,761 crore has been incurred ever since Polavaram was declared a national project by the NDA government in 2016. The Centre has so far released Rs.15,146 crore to the state government through the Polavaram Project Authority. The project is designed to utilise Godavari water going waste into the sea to turn Andhra Pradesh into a drought-free state. The multipurpose project is not only expected to stabilise ayacut in Godavari delta but also supply water to North Andhra and Rayalaseema for drinking and irrigation needs. The project will also control the floods and generate hydel power. The project is also designed to divert 80 TMC water from Godavari to Krishna River to fulfil the drinking water and irrigation needs of the drought-prone Rayalaseema region. Polavaram will store 194 TMC of water, utilise 322 TMC of water, irrigate 7.2 lakh acres, stabilise ayacut of 23.50 lakh acres, supply drinking water to 28.50 lakh people, generate 960 Megawatt of power. Water tourism and availability of water for industrial use are the other expected benefits of the mega project. The project’s main features include a diaphragm wall with 90 meter depth, huge gates of 20 meter height and 16 meter width, 390 km long left and right canals. Naidu recalls that in 2014 he took oath as the chief minister only after the Centre issued an Ordinance to merge seven mandals of Telangana with Andhra Pradesh. As these mandals are likely to be submerged, they were merged with Andhra Pradesh to avoid any inter-state disputes. Naidu claims that 72 per cent of the works were completed between 2014 and 2019 while only 3.84 per cent works were carried out during the YSRCP rule. “I visited the project 31 times and held virtual reviews 104 times,” he said. Out of the total Rs.15,364 crore expenditure incurred, Rs.11,762 crore was spent during 2014-19. During the YSRCP rule (2019-24), works worth only Rs.4,167 crore were taken up, Naidu claimed. He also alleged that the Jagan government diverted Rs.3,385 crore of central funds released for Polavaram. CM Naidu declared on June 28 that his government would rope in international experts to assess the project's current status due to the damages caused by the mismanagement by the previous government. “The Diaphragm wall was damaged due to Jagan's stupid decisions. His incompetence, arrogance and audacity put the survival of the project in jeopardy,” said CM Naidu. During the TDP regime, the diaphragm wall was completed at a cost of Rs. 436 crore. However, officials indicated that an additional Rs. 447 crore would be required to rectify damages caused under the subsequent government. Moreover, the construction of a new diaphragm wall was estimated to cost Rs. 990 crore and could potentially span three to four seasons for completion. The project was originally planned to be completed by 2020. CM Naidu was uncertain as to how much time and money it would take to complete the project. Repair works necessitated by these delays are projected to cost Rs. 4,900 crore, contributing to a significant 38 per cent increase in the project's overall expenses. Recently, an expert from the United States and another from Canada visited the project site. They have been engaged by the Polavaram Project Authority (PPA) to review planning, designs and drawings submitted by the Water Resources Department of Andhra Pradesh), which is the executing agency. Conceived at a cost of just Rs. 6.5 crore before India achieved Independence to now a whopping Rs. 55,000 crore, Polavaram remains the most jinxed project in the country. From reorganisation of states to formation of Andhra State, its merger with then Hyderabad State to form Andhra Pradesh and then to the bifurcation of the state, Polavaram has come a full circle. It was in 1980 that Tanguturi Anjaiah, Chief Minister of then undivided Andhra Pradesh, laid the foundation stone for the prestigious project but it could not go beyond unveiling of a plaque. It was not a priority for the subsequent governments of both the Congress and Telugu Desam Party (TDP). CM Naidu, who was the longest-serving CM in the undivided Andhra Pradesh (1995-2004), faced criticism for ignoring agriculture. When YS Rajasekhara Reddy led the Congress back to power in 2004, he included Polavaram in his priorities. The work was launched in 2005 and most of the work on the two canals was completed. YSR, as he was popular among his followers, secured 95 per cent of the Central government clearances including the environmental clearance. YSR’s death in a helicopter crash in 2009 and the subsequent political upheaval due to revival of demand for Telangana state once again put Polavaram on the back-burner. However, the project got a new lease of life in the most unexpected way. Conceding the demand for statehood to Telangana in the face of a massive movement, the then United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government offered a few incentives to compensate the residuary state of Andhra Pradesh for losing out capital Hyderabad to Telangana. Declaring Polavaram a national project was one of the inducements offered in the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act. This meant that the central government would build the project. In 2016 under the special package offered by the Centre in lieu of special category status, the Centre agreed to provide all the funds required for Polavaram and allowed the state to take charge of the construction. This move by Naidu came under criticism from Congress leaders, who argued that only Central agencies have the expertise to execute projects of such a complex nature. Naidu’s move to sever ties with NDA in 2018 came as another blow to Polavaram as the Centre and state traded allegations of corruption. During the 2019 election campaign, Prime Minister Modi had alleged that Polavaram became an ‘ATM’ for Naidu. “Polavaram has become like an ATM for him to draw money from the Centre,” PM Modi said. “Where is the money in your ATM,” Naidu had asked, hitting back at PM Modi for not reimbursing Rs. 4,500 crore the state government spent in spite of the financial crisis. Returning as chief minister after five years in alliance with the BJP, Chandrababu Naidu is once again pinning his hopes on PM Modi to complete the project.