In her budget speech, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday said that the government was fully committed to the completion and financing of the Polavaram irrigation project.
This comes a day after the Union Civil Aviation Minister K Ram Mohan Naidu along with Minister of State for Steel Bhupathi Raju Srinivasa Varma and Andhra Pradesh Irrigation Minister N Ramanaidu called on Union Minister for Jal Shakti C.R. Patil highlighting the importance of the irrigation project considered as "pride" for the people of the state.
They requested the central government to extend financial and technical support for the timely completion of the Polavaram project started in 2005.
The Polavaram project on river Godavari in Andhra Pradesh is a multi-purpose irrigation project intended to create a gross irrigation potential of 4,36,825 hectares and envisages the generation of 960 MW of hydropower and drinking water supply to a population of 28.50 lakh across 611 villages.
Sitharaman said in her speech, "… the Polavaram irrigation project is the lifeline for Andhra Pradesh and its farmers. This (early completion) will facilitate our country’s food security as well."
Last month, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu released a white paper on the project. He said that the extent of the damage caused to the project during the YSRCP government’s five-year rule is enormous and yet to be ascertained. Naidu underscored that the previous government's approach to the project had led to substantial disruptions, particularly between 2019 and 2024, citing the practice of reverse tendering.
In September last year, the Union Jal Shakti Ministry sent the revised cost estimate of Rs. 17,144 crores proposed by the Andhra Pradesh State government to complete the remaining works of the Polavaram irrigation project (first phase) for examination by the Polavaram Project Authority (PPA) and Central Water Commission (CWC).
In 2014, the union cabinet approved the constitution of the Polavaram Project Authority as per the Andhra Pradesh State Reorganization Act (APRA), 2014. While the Centre regulates and finances the project, the Andhra Pradesh government is responsible for the execution.
