Polavaram project will be completed by 2019, says Naidu.

As he laid the foundation stone for spillway works of the multipurpose Indirasagar (Polavaram) project, Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu was visibly elated that the Union government has finally set the ball rolling by giving away a cheque for Rs. 1,981 crore towards the money spent by the Andhra Pradesh Government.

Mr. Naidu exuded confidence that the project would be dedicated to the nation by the year 2019 and spillway works by the end of 2017. It was targeted to supply water through gravity by 2018.

Seeking to allay apprehensions of farmers, Mr. Naidu said compensation to the displaced people would be paid as per the Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013, to about 1.80 lakh owners of agricultural and residential land, who would be directly affected.



Mr. Naidu showered encomiums on Prime Minister Narendra Modi for delivering on his party’s promise, which was to extend full cooperation for implementation of the project, and even made the nearly 50,000-strong crowd which came from various parts of the State give a standing ovation to Mr. Modi and all those who helped in reaching Friday’s milestone.

It was the second most important public function after the laying of foundation for the capital city Amaravati by Mr. Modi on October 22, 2015 and Mr. Naidu spared no effort to make it a grand success.

The Chief Minister put concrete at the auspicious time of 1.59 p.m. amid chanting of Vedic hymns, and called upon the people to pray to Gods for smooth execution of the project. He even administered to them a pledge to that effect.

“Farmers have made a great sacrifice by giving nearly 31,000 acres of land for construction of the capital city. They have made a similar noble gesture for building this dam. The nation will never forget their contribution to development”, Mr. Naidu asserted.

He thanked the Centre for reimbursing the Rs. 1,981 crore spent by Andhra Pradesh, in the form of the cheque presented by Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley four days ago.

Mr. Naidu observed that the project would have remained a non-starter had not Prime Minister Narendra Modi merged the seven mandals of Khammam district into Andhra Pradesh through an ordinance.

The Chief Minister said efforts were under way to supply water to Visakhapatnam through the Yeleru project. The Thotapalli and Vamsadhara expansion projects would be completed next year. Priority was given to Handri-Neeva and Velugodu projects, Mr. Naidu added.

Union Minister for Civil Aviation P. Ashok Gajapathi Raju and Irrigation and Water Resources Minister Devineni Umamaheswara Rao were present.

THE HINDU