Polavaram project: AP CM urges Centre to reimburse Rs. 3,715 crore immediately

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu recently asked the Centre to immediately release the pending funds for the Polavaram project.

The Centre should also approve the revised detailed project report (DPR) at an estimated cost of Rs. 58,000 crore, he said.

He was speaking to newspersons after formally announcing a Guinness World Record set by Navayuga Engineering Company Ltd. (NECL) for most concrete continuously poured in 24 hours for the project. About 32,315 cubic metres of concrete was poured in the blocks of the project between 8 am on Sunday and 8 am Monday.

Replying to queries, Naidu said the Centre should immediately reimburse Rs. 3,715 crore already spent by the State on the project. Out of the revised estimate of Rs. 58,000 crore, Rs. 33,000 crore is for land acquisition, relief and rehabilitation. An amount of Rs. 11,000 crore is for the main dam while the rest of the funds is for canals and hydel power plant, Naidu said.

Till date, Rs. 15, 585 crore has been spent on the project, he added.

About 62 per cent of concrete work of the dam has been completed. Remaining works too will be completed by June this year in first phase and fully by 2020, he added. The Polavaram Project will be used to interlink rivers in the State.

Congratulating NECL for setting the record, Naidu said, “We have done better than anybody in the world in project execution. In the near future, this record is unlikely to be broken.”

“Every Monday, I am reviewing it,” he said, adding that so far 30 physical inspections and 84 review meetings were held.

C Sridhar, Managing Director, NECL, said the target of completing the work by June this year was a herculean task and the company has brought additional machinery for the purpose.

Water from the project will start flowing to Vijayawada in June, he added.

HBL