VIJAYAWADA: Minister for Water Resources Devineni Umamaheswara Rao on Tuesday said that Congress MP K.V.P. Ramachandra Rao had no moral right to speak about Polavaram project as his party failed to complete the during its 10-year rule.
Reacting to a letter written by Mr. Ramachandra Rao demanding release of a white paper, the Minister said the TDP Government had spent Rs.21,000 crore on irrigation projects, Rs. 3,247.27 crore on Polavaram alone, during the last two-and-a-half years. It committed itself to completing the project by 2018, he added.
In contrast, the Congress did nothing, he said addressing a press conference here on Tuesday.
The Congress government failed to take up rehabilitation during its rule. The TDP government, on the other hand, was going to spend Rs.28,000 crore towards rehabilitation of tribal people living in the areas to be submerged by the Polavaram project, the Minister said.
Far from coming up with constructive suggestions, leaders of the Congress and the YSR Congress were trying to stall the progress of project works by creating hurdles by filing petitions in the National Green Tribunal, the Minister said.
He said Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu proved his commitment by completing the Pattiseema project in a record time.
“The government is committed to completing the Polavaram project as per schedule. It would also release water to Pulivendula on January 11,” he said.