Jagan Reddy’s SOS to PM Modi after finance ministry throws a spanner in Polavaram project

Andhra Pradesh chief minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy on Saturday sought the intervention of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in approving the revised price of Polavaram main irrigation mission as per 2017-18 estimates, as an alternative of 2013-14 estimates as projected by the Union finance ministry.

Jagan requested Modi to prevail upon the Union ministries of finance and Jal Sakthi to accord funding clearances to the revised mission price as per 2017-18 estimates.

The division of expenditure of the Union ministry of finance, in its letter dated October 12, capped the price of Polavaram mission at Rs 20,398,61 crore at 2013-14 worth stage, as towards the mission price of Rs 47,725.74 crore authorised by the 2nd Revised Cost Estimate (RCE) of the Union ministry of water sources.

“This is totally unrealistic to complete the Polavaram project, which was declared a national project under AP Reorganisation Act, 2014, according to which the Central government shall bear the entire cost of the project,” Jagan mentioned in his letter to the Prime Minister.

He mentioned an quantity of Rs 17,656.82 crore of public cash had already been spent on the mission. At this juncture, any unrealistic price estimate would lead to mission remaining incomplete, he reminded.

The chief minister identified that each one the central authorities companies together with Polavaram Project Authority (PPA), Central Water Commission (CWC), Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) and Revised Cost Committee (RCC) had authorised the rise in mission price.

He mentioned the key cause for improve within the mission price was as a result of land acquisition, rehabilitation and resettlement price, on account of Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013, enacted by the Centre.

“When the cost of land acquisition and R&R alone for rehabilitating project displaced families itself is Rs 28,191 crore, how is it possible to complete the entire project at a capped cost of Rs 20,398 crore?” Jagan requested.

He reminded that the Union cupboard in March 2014 had clearly acknowledged that the Centre would bear all the price of the mission and procure all requisite clearances together with environmental, forests, and rehabilitation and resettlement and any improve within the mission price would even be borne by the Centre.

Stating that it was nothing however pure that the price of the mission was sure to escalate as a result of cost-overruns and time overruns as a result of inflation, GST regime and different unexpected elements, Jagan mentioned any additional delay would solely improve the land acquisition and R&R prices additional as a result of improve in primary worth of land solatium and different elements.

“The state government is only an executing agency on behalf of the Centre and the overall responsibility of completion of the project lies with the Centre as envisaged in AP Reorganisation Act, 2014,” he identified.