Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy has said that the Polavaram Multipurpose Irrigation Project is on track.
“The design of the Earth-cum-Rock Fill (ECRF) dam of the Polavaram project will be finalized soon,” Mr Jagan Mohan Reddy said on Tuesday, and the authorities will also focus on relief and rehabilitation (R&R) works. instructed to do.
Reviewing the progress of Polavaram and other priority irrigation projects, the Chief Minister directed the officials to complete them within the stipulated time.
Mr. Jagan Mohan Reddy had recently announced in the Legislative Assembly that the Polavaram project would be completed within 18 months of the finalization of the design, adding that it would be operational by Kharif 2023.
Elaborating on the progress on the lower cofferdam and ECRF dam, the officials said that all the designs of the downstream cofferdam have been received and the work will be completed by July 31.
Officials told the chief minister that out of 20,946 families they have shifted 7,962 families and 3,228 families have applied for OTS. The remaining 9,756 will have to be transferred.
Directing the officials to rehabilitate the families at the earliest, he said that the benefits under the R&R package should be distributed through Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) mode.
Sangam Barrage
Shri Jagan Mohan Reddy directed the officials to notify the Sangam Barrage as ‘Mekapati Gowtham Reddy Sangam Barrage’.
The Chief Minister said that the officials told him that the work of Nellore and Sangam barrage was almost complete and they would be ready for inauguration by May 15. The work of Ovac Tunnel-2 should be completed by August.
Officials said that excavation work is going on at the rate of 400 meters per month on Tunnel-2 in Poola Subbaiah Veligonda project and it will be increased to 500 meters per month. The Chief Minister directed the officials to take steps to supply water through Tunnel-1 of the project from September.
interlinking rivers
The officials also informed the Chief Minister that the work of interlinking the Vamsadhara and Nagavali rivers is in full swing.
Shri Jagan Mohan Reddy directed the officials to prepare a plan for inviting tenders for supply of water to Udayagiri and Badwell areas under the Veligonda project and to lift water at the Gotta barrage at Vamsadhara for pumping into the Hiramandalam reservoir.
He directed the officials to start work on the Neradi barrage on Vamsadhara soon and said that both Andhra Pradesh and Orissa would benefit from this project. “The neighboring state can use half the storage water,” he said.
He directed the officials to complete the work on the Thotapalli project and expedite the work under the Gajapatinagar branch canal.
The Chief Minister asked the officials to invite tenders after taking permission from the Finance Department to complete the Mahendra Tanay project.
He directed the officials to focus on land acquisition and other issues related to the Uttarakhand Sujala Shravanthi project, and asked them to extend the main canal to Srikakulam.
Water Resources Minister P. Anil Kumar, Chief Secretary Sameer Sharma, Principal Secretary Water Resources Shashi Bhushan Kumar and R&R Commissioner Cherukuri Sridhar were present.