The Central Government will create a special purpose vehicle to implement the Rs 20,000-crore Polavaram multi-purpose project resolving various issues related to it, according to Jairam Ramesh, Union Rural Development Minister.
Of the total investment on this national project, the Centre will provide Rs 18,000 crore (90 per cent) of the project cost and expedite its implementation by resolving submergence issues and inter-State disputes, he said.
“The Central Government will take upon it and execute the project and shall be responsible for all clearances and rehabilitation and settlement. It will also take care of measures to ensure that the submergence of villages, which will now be shifted to Seemandhra region, will be compensated and addressed,” he said.
“While the consent of Telangana is deemed to have been given for the project, the issue with regard to submergence of villages in neighbouring States of Chhattisgarh and Odisha will also be addressed. Already, Andhra Pradesh had filed an affidavit in the Supreme Court that it will spend Rs 600 crore and construct a retention wall as a part of the settlement with neighbours,” he explained.
Apart from providing drinking water to Vizag city, it is expected to stabilise agriculture in several districts and the Godavari basin and also link up to Krishna river system. The Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has assured, “Our Government will execute the Polavaram project-let there be no doubt about that,” he said.
Referring to river water sharing related issues, he said that separate boards for management of Krishna and Godavari river waters will be constituted and managed by the central Government and allocations made by various tribunals will be implemented by the successor States of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.
The Krishna Water Disputes Tribunal will be asked to make specific project wise allocation and determine as operational protocol for project-wise release of water in the event of deficit flow. While the allocations made in the past will be binding on both States, allocations will be made on excess flows.