VIJAYAWADA: Irrigation and Water Resources Minister Devineni Umamaheswara Rao has demanded that YSR Congress (YSRC) Party president Y.S. Jaganmohan Reddy explain the extent of truth behind the claims that Rs. 95,000 crore was spent on irrigation projects during the 10-year Congress rule, including the period when his father, Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy was Chief Minister.
In a press release, Mr. Umamaheswara Rao said that had the sum been really invested, the projects would be completed in five years. But that was not the case to be, as funds were siphoned off on a massive scale, he alleged.
The Minister questioned why the focus was on construction of canals and earthworks rather than on the spillways component, rock-fill dam, land acquisition and resettlement of the displaced.
He asked Mr. Jagan why compensation was not paid to the people displaced by Gandikota and K.L. Rao Sagar (Pulichintala) projects during the reign of Mr. Rajasekhara Reddy.
Mr. Umamaheswara Rao questioned why Mr. Jagan did not condemn the attempts allegedly made by K. Chandrasekhar Rao to stall the merger of seven Telangana mandals into Andhra Pradesh, which was intended to take up the Polavaram project.
Mr. Reddy should also let the people know why he did not fight for it in Parliament when he was its member, the Minister demanded, and sought to know what tied Mr. Rajasekhara Reddy’s hands to prevent Karnataka and Maharashtra from constructing “illegal” projects on the Godavari and Krishna rivers.
