Notwithstanding his political savvy and over three-decade-long experience, for Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu, Thursday’s all-round well-coordinated attack on him and his pet multi-purpose Polavaram project, may have looked like the entire world is conspiring against him.
First, there was this “totally unexpected” missive from the NDA Government, led by his Telugu Desam’s friendly ally BJP, asking his government to put on hold the tendering process of the Polavaram project, which virtually meant halting work.
Political artillery
A few hours later, Congress MP K.V.P. Ramachandra Rao sent a letter to Mr. Naidu seeking queries on changed funding pattern to Polavaram ever since the NDA assumed power and how Mr. Naidu has misled the Andhra Pradesh Assembly.
Almost at the same time, YSR Congress Party leader Botsa Satyanarayana said the Centre’s letter was a reflection of irregularities going on unabated in the execution of the project.
The artillery fire of the political kind was not confined to the State, but came from neighbouring States too.
Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik wrote a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi challenging the national status accorded to Polavaram and expressing deep concern over “rapid pace” of work, and how it would lead to large-scale submergence of tribal lands.
TS decision
Not to be left out, the Telangana government decided to “ïntensify its efforts to pitch for a fresh impact assessment study of Polavaram.”
Suddenly, Mr. Naidu’s over three-year efforts to get the project going —beginning with merger of seven submergence mandals of Telangana into Andhra Pradesh soon after bifurcation in June 2014 to tie-up for funds with NABARD after very many visits to Delhi, his own close monitoring of the project by making 20 visits to the site and 46 times virtual review every Monday from Amaravati — seem to have come to a naught. He appeared so disappointed with “so many hurdles being placed in the way of Polavaram” that he announced his intention to hand over the execution of the project to the Central government, if it so desired.
Apparently, Mr. Naidu and the Telugu Desam see red in the latest move by Centre to send yet another letter asking the State to virtually keep the works on hold.
They clearly see in it a political hue.
When the State government was leaving no stone unturned in ensuring completion of the project by 2019, fixing definite milestones and crossing them, where was the need for the Centre to keep sending letters and committees to inspect? Is it not a ploy to delay the project, sow seeds of suspicion among the people, and show the TDP government in poor light? Has the State, which has been asked to execute the national project no right to change a contractor, who is delaying the works? The Centre’s action was not acceptable as the funding for the project was far from encouraging, so goes the argument in the TDP circles.
According to a note tabled in the Assembly the other day, the State government has spent ₹7,431 crore till October 2017 from the day it was considered as a national project. Of this, the Centre’s Polavaram Project Authority has released ₹4,329 crore, leaving a balance of ₹3,102 crore to be reimbursed.
Disappointments galore
The TDP government sees this as an addition to the series of disappointments it had been enduring beginning with the denial of Special Category Status, no forward movement on its alternative, the special assistance package, poor funding for the capital and partial fulfilment of the promise on clearing ₹16,000 crore deficit that the State had inherited.
In contrast, the BJP has its own argument.
When it is declared as a national project, should not the Centre monitor it closely? Why should the TDP government take it in a negative way when all that the Centre and the Union Ministers, with the local BJP leaders in tow, want the State to do is to maintain transparency in presenting the expenditure bills. But what turned out to be the flashpoint was the change in contractor. For some inexplicable reason, the Centre wants the State to continue with the same contractor, while the State insists on changing the firm.
What next? If not a breaking point, will the stand-off lead to a strain in relations between the TDP and the BJP?
Though hawks in both the camps and political rivals wish that the relations reach such a point, it is unlikely to happen, for the TDP and the BJP may not gain much politically. If the TDP walks out of the alliance, it is not going make much of a material difference to a strong BJP at the Centre and the TDP may end up getting discriminatory treatment, drying up even the trickle of funds that the State is getting now.
On the other hand, the BJP’s game plan to put the TDP government in a spot by delaying or cutting funds may not work as it would give handle to the latter to go to town blaming the former for everything from slow progress of Polavaram to building of the capital.
No surprise then that both the TDP and the BJP are playing a wait-and-watch game for now.
