If the long-pending Indira Sagar Polavaram project, key to Andhra Pradesh and parts of Odisha and Chhattisgarh, is to be completed, political and regional issues need to be resolved.
With a gross storage of 195 tmc ft, the project is to irrigate 24 lakh acres, link the Krishna and Godavari river systems, provide drinking water to over 500 villages, provide water for industrial use in Vizag, and generate 960 MW of electricity.
Conceived in 1943, the project has been delayed and the cost has been rising — from Rs 10,151 crore in 2007 to Rs 16,010 crore in 2010 and now up to nearly Rs 20,000 crore. Thus far, about Rs 4,500 crore has been spent. Of the 1.6 lakh acres required for the venture, 69,000 acres has been acquired. It is still some years away from becoming a reality.
Telangana to benefit
Government officials, engineers, contractors, and environmentalists now see some hope from the recent announcement by the Centre declaring it a national project. This, they think, may help overcome inter-State issues as national projects typically get 90 per cent of funding from the Centre.
Although all clearances have been obtained, submergence of villages in the border areas poses a challenge to the execution of the project.
A senior Government official told Business Line , “The project will be a reality within a few years. Issues like R&R (relief and rehabilitation) are key aspects. The Andhra Pradesh Government has managed to acquire over 8.5 lakh acres for irrigation projects under Jalayagnam (a State Government water management initiative) by providing about Rs 7,600 crore so far towards R&R. We expect to resolve these issues within the State and with neighbours, who will also benefit from the project.”
A senior irrigation engineer said with the pace of construction picking up, the project was likely to be completed within seven years. “Such projects are national assets and go beyond regional concerns,” he said.
Sridhar Cherukuri, CMD of Transstroy (India), said the project will benefit both the Telangana and Andhra regions as it will help create additional ayacut under the Godavari delta and stabilise the Krishna delta. A consortium led by Transstroy is working on the rockfill-cum-earthen dam, spillway and the foundation for a 960 MW powerhouse.
Political ploy
Some, however, see the national status tag as an attempt to appease the people in the coastal districts.
T. Shivaji Rao, environmentalist, said the UPA Government is politicising the project and deciding the issue on political considerations rather than technical merit. “In the present din over the Andhra-Telangana issue, no one listens to us,” he complained.
Irrigation expert Hanumantha Rao has been objecting to the design of the dam as, he thinks, it will pose a threat to people in the Godavari districts. There are several ways of stabilising the Krishna delta, there is no need to interlink rivers, he says.
The Supreme Court has directed the State Government to conduct public hearings at all the villages that will be submerged across the two neighbouring States.
J. V. Ratnam, an environmentalist, said, “Thousands of tribal families will be displaced in Khammam, East Godavari and West Godavari.”