Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy on Thursday requested Union Minister for Jal Shakti Gajendra Singh Shekhawat to accord investment clearance for the Polavaram project amounting to approximately ₹55,657 crore as per the recommendations of the Polavaram Project Authority (PPA) and the Central Water Commission, which were accepted by the Technical Advisory Committee of the Ministry at the 2017-18 price level.
“The clearance will help in completing the project works, including land acquisition and R&R, as per schedule, i.e. June 2022,” Mr. Jagan Mohan Reddy told Mr. Shakhawat during their deliberations in New Delhi, an official release here said.
The Chief Minister also requested the Union Minister to consider water supply as an integral part of the irrigation component so that it would be in consonance with the guidelines followed by the Ministry with regard to the national projects. He wanted that the entire expenditure be reimbursed without a restriction on component-wise eligibility.
‘Shift PPA headquarters’
Mr. Jagan Mohan Reddy also asked the Union Minister to reimburse the expenditure incurred by the State government on land acquisition and R&R compensation paid to the project-affected families as per the Right to Fair Compensation & Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation & Resettlement Act, 2013, and to shift the PPA headquarters from Hyderabad to Rajamahendravaram at an early date.
In a separate meeting with Prakash Javadekar, Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change, the Chief Minister requested him to take action for solving the problems faced in obtaining environmental clearances for the Polavaram project material stocking works.
