The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh / Hyderabad News : AP for Pranahita-Chevella, Polavaram as national projects

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Nov 22, 2008
ePaper | Mobile/PDA Version


=

Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh - Hyderabad

AP for Pranahita-Chevella, Polavaram as national projects

Special Correspondent

Plea for their inclusion under Bharat Nirmam programme

YSR leaving for New Delhi on Nov. 25, scheduled to meet Prime Minister Manmohan Singh
The State has already urged the Centre to enhance aid to irrigation projects to 50 p.c.

HYDERABAD: Andhra Pradesh will request the Union Government to take up Polavaram and Pranahita-Chevella projects as national projects by including them in its Bharat Nirmam programme.

A formal plea to this effect will be made to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh by Chief Minister Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy during his visit to New Delhi on November 25.

Announcing this at a press conference here on Friday, Finance Minister K. Rosaiah said the State was eligible to seek this special favour from the Centre as it had taken up the massive Jalayagnam programme to create 1.07 crore acres of additional ayacut, nearly half of the 2.5 crore acres contemplated under Bharat Nirman.

Mr Rosaiah said if the Centre did not respond, alternative routes of funding these projects would be thought of. The State had already requested the Centre to enhance the assistance to irrigation projects to 50 per cent from 30 per cent under Accelerated Irrigation Benefit Programme.

The Minister said the State Government would execute the two projects with its own funds if no help came from any quarter. “Jalayagnam has been taken up with a spirit of adventure and we will use every drop of water in our rivers”.

Budget allocation

Referring to media reports questioning availability funds for the mega projects, Mr. Rosaiah said the budget allocated for irrigation by the Rajasekhara Reddy government during the last four and half years amounted to a high of Rs. 50,186 crore.

Key sector

The budget set aside for this key sector during the previous four years from 1999 by the Telugu Desam regime was mere Rs. 8,557 crore.

He said the financial meltdown had its impact on India too but the State Government did not cut down budget size of any sector, especially irrigation.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Andhra Pradesh