The central government made it clear in the Lok Sabha that the YS Jaganmohan Reddy government was responsible for the delay in construction of Polavaram project. While revealing the full details about Polavaram in Parliament, it was clarified that the reason for the delay in the construction of Polavaram project was due to the change of contractors.
The Union Minister said that the first phase of Polavaram (41.5 meters high) will be completed by March 2026. He answered the question asked by TDP MPs Lau Srikrishna Krishnadevaraya and GM Harish Balayogi in the Lok Sabha.
He said that the Center has taken cooperation for the Polavaram Project Authority from IIT Hyderabad in August 2021 to examine the project works and find out the reasons for the delay. He said that IIT Hyderabad submitted the report in November 2021.
The Union Minister said that the report made it clear the main reasons for the delay in the construction of the project are the change of contractors, delay in land acquisition, rehabilitation, compensation, Covid 19 epidemic and its related conditions.
He reminded that the Polavaram Irrigation Project (PIP) was declared as a national project in the Andhra Pradesh Reoorganization Act. He said that in 2016, the Union Finance Ministry had approved that the Center would bear 100 percent of the cost of the project from April 1, 2014 only under the irrigation component.
He explained that the Andhra Pradesh government will take care of the construction and management of the project. In the last three years, the Union Minister CR Patil said that Rs. 8,044.31 crores have been given from the Centre. The reply also included the progress details of the three years’ work.
It has been clarified that in the three years from 2021-22, 21 percent of the main works of the project are earthworks and only 5.3 percent of concrete works have been done. Lining work for the right canal was done by 1.72 percent and structures by 0.39 percent.
For the left canal, he said, 0.30 percent earthworks, 1.18 percent lining and 3.33 percent structures were done. The Union Minister disclosed the details that the land acquisition was 0.22 percent and the relief rehabilitation program was only 8 percent.