The Ministry of Jal Shakti (MoJS) has agreed in principle to provide ₹17,144 crore to the Water Resources Department (WRD) of Andhra Pradesh as an ad hoc assistance for taking up the Polavaram project works.
Union Minister of Jal Shakti Gajendra Singh Shekhawat has ordered the officials concerned to process the payment at the earliest, says Water Resources Department Engineer-in-Chief C. Narayana Reddy.
Addressing the media in New Delhi, after participating in a high-level review meeting on the Polavaram project chaired by Mr. Shekhawat on June 1 (Thursday), Mr. Narayana Reddy said the ad hoc assistance would be mainly used for implementing the Rehabilitation and Resettlement (R&R) package up to a height of 41.15 metres.
He stated that things were moving pretty fast as Mr. Shekhawat positively responded to the issues taken to his notice, especially the need for the MoJS to approve the revised cost of the project, which exceeded ₹55,000 crore.
The ad hoc assistance would come in handy for the State government to take the project forward with top priority to the R&R works, he observed.
Mr. Narayana Reddy said the design aspects of the Polavaram project were clarified to Mr. Shekhawat and the senior officials of MoJS, and the Polavaram Project Authority (PPA), and it was emphasised that there was a solution to the technical glitches that hampered the project.
Besides, the need for timely reimbursement of the expenditure incurred by the State was conveyed, Mr. Narayana Reddy said, adding that the MoJS was actively considering the requests made by Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy to help the State in completing the project as per the revised schedule.
