Ramchandra Rao urges Centre to take over Polavaram project

New Delhi/Hyderabad, Aug 25: Congress Rajya Sabha member from Telangana K V P Ramchandra Rao today urged the Centre to take over the Polavaram irrigation project and ensure its early completion by 2018.

"I request the Central government to take over the Polavaram irrigation project immediately and expedite the work on it to ensure its completion by 2018 as envisaged earlier.

"The state government is not willing to hand over the project to the Centre for obvious reasons but the Centre should fulfil its promise of making it a national project and ensuring its completion by 2018," Rao told reporters.

He said it is mandated upon the Central government to complete the project as it has already been declared as a national project under the AP Reorganisation Act, 2014.

"The Centre should act fast and finish the project in time, as it is the lifeline of Andhra Pradesh," he said.

The consent for Polavaram Irrigation Project shall be deemed to have been given by the successor State of Telangana and the Central Government shall execute the project and obtain all requisite clearances including environmental, forests, and rehabilitation and resettlement norms, as mandated in Section 90 of the AP Reorganisation Act, he said.

Rao had earlier moved a private member bill for amending the Constitution to declare a special package for Andhra Pradesh, which could not be voted, it being declared as a money bill by Rajya Sabha chairman. Rao has also written to Union Water Resources Minister Uma Bharti in this regard.

He has said that Andhra Pradesh is in a very bad shape financially and emotionally and the only ray of hope they have is the Polavaram National Project, which can be utilized in the best interests of the state.

"The people of AP are not able to understand about what is happening to Polovaram Project at all ! "In the circumstances, I request you to give clarity on what is exactly happening on Polavaram Project and also to complete the Polavaram Project at the earliest, as mandated in the A.P Reorganisation Act," he said in his letter to Bharti.

PTI