Minister for Irrigation P. Anil Kumar has asserted that the Polavaram project will be completed at any cost in two years.
Denying media reports that the project works had been deliberately delayed, he told mediapersons here on Saturday that no works could be taken up now in view of the heavy floods in the Godavari.
“Work on the project will resume in full swing in November. We will ensure that it is completed in 2021 at any cost,” he explained as the opposition Telugu Desam Party alleged that fresh tenders were being called for the power house and earth work to favour those close to Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy.
Alleging that the previous TDP government had swindled thousands of crores of rupees by inflating the project cost, he said the YSR Congress Party government was determined to prevent misuse of public money.
The State government was constantly updating the Union government on the developments relating to the project, including change of contractor, he added.
Minister for Transport and Information and Public Relations Perni Venkataramaiah questioned the progress achieved by the TDP government in the implementation of Polavaram project, and alleged that huge sums were swindled.
Perni’s charge
Addressing mediapersons at the YSR Congress State party office in Vijayawada, Mr. Venkataramaiah said the former Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu’s claim of completing the project by 2018 proved to be false and misleading.
Still, Mr. Naidu and his son Lokesh were making a false propaganda that the State government had terminated the NEC contract to favour contractors close to it. Besides, the duo had also been spreading around the word that the State government was handing over Machilipatnam port to Telangana. The government would rather take up the responsibility of constructing it if Navayuga Engineering Company (NEC) exits the project. It was committed to completing this long-pending project, whereas the former Chief Minister had done nothing except laying the foundation stone.
