Finally, the State government gave an overwhelming ‘aye’ to M. Kambaladinne village in the Mylavaram mandal of the Kadapa district for establishing the much-awaited Rayalaseema Steel Corporation plant.
Ahead of its unveiling by Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu on Thursday, the pylon is being readied by the Andhra Pradesh Mineral Development Corporation (APMDC) to be laid in the district, just 15 km from the Kurnool district border and 5 km from Ananthapuram border, thus truly representing the Rayalaseema heartland.
Though MECON and SAIL representatives visited the village and also Kopparthi village on the outskirts of Kadapa city, water availability apparently weighed in favour of the former as it is located a mere 10 km from the Gandikota reservoir. Kopparthi, on the other hand, is devoid of any water facility as it is basically in a dry belt. The reservoir has a storage of 8-10 tmcft of water. After painstaking efforts, the district administration successfully increased the capacity to 26 tmcft by clearing a village Kondapuram by paying huge compensation of ₹70 crore. “Water level will be increased in phases to reach the full capacity of 26 tmcft,” Collector Ch. Hari Kiran told The Hindu .
Ahead of the foundation-laying ceremony, Mr. Hari Kiran on Sunday inspected the arrangements.
He told media that Dec 27 would be a memorable day for the people of the district, when the Chief Minister would set the ball rolling for the ₹20,000-crore project, considered a boon to the region.
Joint Collector P. Koteswara Rao, RDOs Naganna and Malola and others were present.
