Minister for Water Resources Development, Nimmala Ramanaidu, has announced that experts have recommended the construction of a new diaphragm wall for the Polavaram project, as repairing the existing one is not advisable.
Discussions have also taken place regarding the design of this new wall.
The experts pointed out that the current situation arose after the sudden suspension of the agency previously overseeing the work, which led to a 13-month halt in the project, according to Nimmala.
The Polavaram Project Authority (PPA) questioned who would be held accountable if an issue arose from having two agencies working on the same task.
This concern is documented in the PPA minutes, the Minister noted.
Nimmala criticized the decision to replace the agency under the guise of “reverse tendering,” stating that it effectively disregarded the Polavaram project. He recalled that the previous TDP government, between 2014 and 2019, spent Rs 11,720 crore on the project without waiting for central assistance, though the Centre later reimbursed only Rs 6,764 crore. The TDP government valued every moment and thus chose to spend funds from the exchequer to ensure the project’s progress.
“However, the Centre released Rs 8,382 crore for your government, yet you have spent only Rs 4,167 crore. What happened to the remaining funds intended for the Polavaram project? The YSRCP leaders should answer this,” Nimmala demanded.
He further criticised the YSRCP leaders, accusing them of diverting funds meant for Polavaram and engaging in a misinformation campaign. Nimmala claimed that the people had delivered a verdict on this by granting the YSRCP just 11 seats in the recent elections, despite the party coming to power in 2019 on false promises.
“We are committed to completing the project on time, and we are also working to rectify the mistakes made by the YSRCP,” the Minister remarked.
Nimmala also accused the YSRCP of setting fire to files in government offices to cover up their misdeeds, citing the incident at the RDO office in Punganur as an example. He assured that action would be taken against those responsible for revising the Polavaram project’s estimates.
“We are formulating an action plan to ensure that the project work continues without any seasonal interruptions,” Nimmala observed. He condemned the previous YSRCP government for undermining the Polavaram project and accused the same leaders of now diverting public attention from their five years of ineffective rule through malicious campaigns against the TDP-led NDA’s efficient governance, Nimmala Ramanaidu told reporters in New Delhi.
