Water Resources Minister Ambati Rambabu on Saturday questioned why former Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu could not complete the Polavaram project before the YSRCP came to power.
The construction of the diaphragm wall, without first having the cofferdam in place, was a big blunder that jeopardised the national project, Mr. Rambabu said while addressing the media here.
How was it different from laying a slab devoid of centering, he sought to know, insisting that Mr. Naidu explain before pointing fingers at the government.
As far as the dam height was concerned, it would be taken to 45.72 metres as per the approved designs, he asserted.
Wondering in what capacity Mr. Naidu claimed to have got the flood bank built at Bhadrachalam in 1986 when he was not even an MLA, Mr. Rambabu said it was former Chief Minister N.T. Rama Rao who had played an instrumental role in the construction of the flood bank that was protecting the temple town.
“Mr. Naidu made a statement in the Assembly that Polavaram would be completed by 2018. What happened to it? Basically, being a national project, it has to be constructed by the Central government. What is the reason behind the State taking it over?” the Minister asked.
Mr. Rambabu refuted the allegation that the Polavaram dam height was being restricted to 41.15 metres
The dam height would be increased to 45.72 metres in the subsequent phase only after doing a thorough study of its structural soundness and other aspects.
The government was committed to completing the project, for which it was in constant touch with the Polavaram Project Authority (PPA), he added.
