C Pradeep Kumar
Vijayawada
The YSRCP government, led by Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, has demonstrated unwavering commitment to prioritising irrigation projects in Andhra Pradesh since taking office in 2019. This focus on reviving and expediting long-pending projects has yielded impressive results, benefiting both agriculture and the overall water supply infrastructure.
One of the flagship initiatives, YSR Jalayagnam, a part of the Navaratnalu promised to the people during the padayatra, was kickstarted by Chief Minister Jagan. Under this initiative, projects envisioned by the late Dr. Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy, including Polavaram, Poolasubbayya, Veligonda, and more, were fast-tracked to completion. Additionally, the programme aimed to provide safe drinking water and improve water tables through modernising ponds.
This remarkable progress in irrigation projects comes with a rebuttal to criticisms from the TDP. The YSRCP government has highlighted that previous administrations, including the TDP, had awarded contracts through a nomination process instead of a competitive tendering system, leading to rampant corruption, inflated costs, and subpar project quality.
To rectify these issues, the YSRCP government initiated reverse tendering procedures, which have resulted in substantial cost savings, including Rs 865 crores in the Polavaram project alone, and a total of Rs 2090 crores across all projects. This emphasis on transparency and efficiency has been instrumental in ensuring the successful implementation of irrigation projects in Andhra Pradesh.
