Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu while releasing a White Paper on the Polvaram project said that the erstwhile Government has completely neglected the project. “During our regime (2014-19), we completed 72 per cent of work. But the YSRCP government took it forward only by 4 per cent. While we spent over ₹11,700 crore on the project, they spent only ₹4,000 crore, resulting in huge damage,” he said.
Releasing the White Paper on the project in Amaravati on Friday, he alleged that the project has suffered immensely during the 2019-24 rule by YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, causing huge losses and pushing the project into a deep mess. He alleged that the damage caused by Jagan Mohan Reddy government was much more than the damage caused by the bifurcation.
“The former Chief Minister stopped working on the project on day one of assuming charge. They replaced the contractor and transferred several efficient officers. For over 18 months, there was no progress at all. As a result, flood waters had washed away the concrete works,” he said.
Stating that it would take some more time for officials to assess the damage, he said the project, if completed, would have provided water to 7.2 lakh acres, while stabilising irrigation to 23.50 lakh acres every year.
“It would have generated 960 MW of power, besides providing water to the north coastal districts and industries,” he said.
Flaying the Jagan Mohan Reddy government for its recklessness, inefficiency and nonchalant attitude towards the project, Naidu appealed to the people to understand the situation and cooperate with the government in setting the things right.
Seven White Papers
He said the White Paper was one of the seven White Papers that the government was planning to release in the next few days ahead of the Budget presentation next month. These whitepapers would throw light on the state of affairs in different sectors, giving the people a bird’s eye view of the State’s financial condition.
“The Union Government is going to present the Budget in the next few weeks. We will also come out with the Budget for the State,” he said.