Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu stated that the Polavaram project has faced numerous obstacles. Addressing the media on Monday, Naidu accused former chief minister, YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, of undermining his efforts towards the construction of Polavaram project.
He highlighted his achievement of merger of seven flood-prone mandals from Telangana into Andhra Pradesh, a move approved by the central government. Naidu claimed that 72 percent of the project's work had been completed during the TDP regime when Polavaram was granted national status and included in the Andhra Pradesh Reorganization Act, 2014. He noted that the spillway is designed to discharge 15 lakh cusecs of water.
Criticizing Jagan's administration, Naidu said the reverse tendering process and changes in agencies and workers had disrupted progress, leaving the diaphragm wall unprotected. “A great example is when a useless person enters politics,” Naidu remarked adding that Jagan Reddy made unforgivable mistakes and hindered the project..
Naidu mentioned that he had reviewed the project 100 times and visited the site 30 times. He stated that repairs now cost Rs 446 crores, with Rs 900 crores needed for the diaphragm wall. He lamented that the project could have been completed by 2020 if past work patterns had continued.
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