Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Jaganmohan Reddy has proposed to name the bridge to be constructed over the Polavaram project’s spillway after his father Y S Rajasekhara Reddy.
“The YSR Gateway”, with a four-lane road would be linked with the earth-cum-rock filled dam. It was during the late CM YSR’s rule (2004-2009) that the works began on the decades-old plan.
Polavaram, dubbed as “the lifeline of Andhra Pradesh” is a Rs 55,000 crore multipurpose national project upstream of Rajahmundry intended for a culturable command area of 2.91 lakh hectares. It has two components - a 194 TMC reservoir for irrigation and drinking water purpose and a power plant of 960 MW capacity.
After inspecting the cofferdam and spillway at the project site in West Godavari district on Friday, Reddy has directed officials to complete the project’s irrigation component by June 2021. The power plant is planned to be completed by May 2023.
The whole project was initially named as “Indira Sagar” Polavaram, after the late Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, during the Congress time at the Centre and united AP. However, officials said that since 2014, when it was included in the AP Reorganization Act, “it became just the Polavaram Project.”
Its progress is monitored by the Ministry of Jal Shakti through the Polavaram Project Authority, constituted under the 2014 Act.
“Since the TDP-BJP regime, the project is just being referred to as Polavaram. As of now, the proposal is to name the bridge after YSR,” one top official of AP’s irrigation and water resources department told DH.
This is Jagan’s first visit after he stalled all works in June and later replaced the engineering firm engaged by the previous Chandrababu Naidu for the project with another.
Reddy claims to have saved Rs 830 crore by going for reverse tendering of project works in September, while accusing Naidu of corruption in allocation of tenders to firms favourable to him.
Of the Rs 55,000 crore, Rs 33,000 crore is towards Resettlement and Rehabilitation of the displaced population. Since the project is accorded the national status, the central government provides the funds while the state government executes the work.
Reddy asked the irrigation department officials to prepare a plan of action to complete spillway and approach channels by this year June “so that water could be supplied through the spillway.”
The Chief Minister also asked officials to clear all hurdles for executing the project at the earliest. The rock-fill dam works should be carried out between June and October to fill the gaps in the cofferdam and adequate funds would be allocated for it, he said.
Reddy also directed officials to immediately begin the relief and rehabilitation works so that people could be evacuated to safer places well before the project works are completed. He asked for one official to dedicatedly liaison with the Central government for early clearances of the designs etc.
Officials informed that the right canal works would be completed by this June and the left canal works were being taken up in two packages.