Central Government Shocker To Andhra Pradesh Regarding Polavaram

Vijayawada: The central government on Tuesday made it clear that any cost escalation in the construction of the Polavaram project should be borne by the Andhra Pradesh government.

Replying to a question by Congress leader KVP Ramachandra Rao in the Parliament, Water Resources minister Uma Bharati said the Union government will bear the cost of the project as per the agreement reached with the state in April 2014. Cost escalation of the project due to delays and other reasons is the responsibility of the state, the minister clarified. She also said that there is no question of granting funds as per the estimations given by the state government. Also, the funds granting as per the 2014 agreement will be disbursed as loans through NABARD, the minister said.

It may be noted here that on September 30, 2016, the Union finance ministry agreed that the entire cost of the Polavaram irrigation water project will be borne by the Central government and for this purpose necessary funds should be released to the Water Resources ministry. Interestingly, the state government sanctioned only Rs 9 crore for Polavaram in the annual budget 2017-18. Analysts state that the way the state government is handling the project indicates its lack of commitment. For instance, they say that as per the AP Reorganisation Act the project should have been handed over to the Central government for construction. "Overseeing of the construction by the Centre would have ensured that the Project was completed to some extent by now," they opine. But the state government forced the Centre to hand over the construction aspect to it. Also, it submitted estimation to the tune of Rs 40,351.65 crore to the Centre. Taking into account the annual cost escalation, the cost would cross the Rs 42,000 crore mark, sources said. The state government is on record that it has spent Rs 3,762.52 crore since April 1, 2014 till the end of February 2016.

With the sanctioned budget of Rs 9 crore for the current year and only Rs 3,762.52 crore spent so far by the state government coupled with latest Central government shocker, it will perhaps be sometime before Polavaram sees the light of the day.