Source : The Business Line Date : 02.06.2009
‘Polavaram project will be complete in 3 yrs’
Would irrigate 7.2 lakh acres utilising 273 TMC
Would ensure drinking water to 540 villages benefiting 28.5 lakh people, besides providing 23.5 TMC for industry
Would provide for diversion of 80 TMC to the Krishna Delta
Our Bureau
Hyderabad, March 1 The Chief Minister, Dr Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy, has said the Government’s sheer will power had led to taking up of the Indira Sagar (Polavaram) multipurpose irrigation project, despite many hurdles.
“This is a one-of-a-kind project in the country and unique in many ways — be it the vast areas it will bring under cultivation or the quantum of water brought into utilisation. The project, a long cherished dream of Andhra Pradesh, has been taken up as a challenge and only we can complete it in a fixed timeframe,” a release from the Chief Minister’s Office on Sunday said.
It added that Dr Reddy made the remarks when a group of leaders from the Coastal Andhra, accompanied by the Major Irrigation Minister, Mr P. Lakshmaiah, called on him.
He also said the project, which nobody else dared to lay hands upon, will be completed within three years.
“The clearances secured in the shortest possible time speak volumes about our commitment. The project serves the larger interests of crores of people in the three regions,” Dr Reddy said.
He also expressed happiness over getting all clearances for the project, which would irrigate 7.2 lakh acres utilising 273 TMC. It ensures drinking water to 540 villages benefiting 28.5 lakh people, besides providing 23.5 TMC for industry.
It provides for diversion of 80 TMC to the Krishna Delta, in a first-of-its-kind irrigation initiative of linking two major rivers. Under the project, hydel power generation will be 960 MW. The project cost works out to Rs 10,151.04 crore, including land compensation, resettlement and rehabilitation
