TDP national president N. Chandrababu Naidu will visit major irrigation projects for 10 days starting with the Muchumarri lift irrigation scheme in Nandikotkur constituency on August 1.
The objective of the visit was to present a clear picture of how the TDP had given a fillip to the irrigation projects during its term, and the manner in which the YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) government left the projects in ruins, said party State president K. Atchannaidu while addressing the media on July 29 (Saturday).
Mr. Atchannaidu said that Mr. Naidu’s visit of the projects from ‘Penna to Vamsadhara’ should not be seen as a political stunt, but as a programme aimed at reviving the irrigation sector.
From Muchumarri, Mr. Naidu would go to Gandikota, and then visit the projects in Anantapur district. Later, he would visit the Handri-Neeva Sujala Sravanthi (HNSS) in Madanapalle, Tirupati Balaji reservoir, Gundlakamma, Polavaram, Pattiseema, Uttarandhra Sujala Sravanthi, Thotapalli and Vamsadhara projects. He would stay at the project sites to the extent permitted by logistics.
Mr. Atchannaidu said the TDP government had spent ₹62,000 crore on irrigation projects compared to about ₹22,000 crore in the last more than four years.
He claimed that a statement was made by Engineer-in-Chief C. Narayana Reddy himself some time ago that the expenditure incurred by the TDP government on the irrigation sector in Uttarandhra (north Andhra) during its rule amounted to ₹1,680 crore, while it was ₹320 crore since 2019.
The TDP leader further said that while TDP founder and former Chief Minister N.T. Rama Rao had planned and implemented some crucial projects during his tenure and Mr. Naidu carried the baton forward with a vision, his successor Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy got 198 projects pre-closed to the detriment of the agriculture sector.
Due to the YSRCP government’s failure in completing the pending projects and its impact on agriculture, farmers were forced to declare crop holidays.
The Jalayagnam programme that had been undertaken by former Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhar Reddy with much pomp was bogged down by massive corruption, Mr. Atchannaidu alleged.
