Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy on Friday met Union Home Minister Amit Shah and appealed to him to look into the long-pending issues related to the state, including the Polavaram Irrigation project.
The Chief Minister pointed out that five special leave petitions (SLPs) are already pending in the Supreme Court challenging the decision of Krishna Waters Dispute Tribunal (KWDT)-II.
Jagan Mohan Reddy told Amit Shah that he had brought the matter to the attention of minister for Hydropower twice in the past on August 17, 2021 and June 25, 2022.Jagan has objected to the approval given by the Union Cabinet under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Narendra Modi
The Chief Minister asked the Union government to clear the pending reimbursement of 1,355.57 crore spent by Andhra Pradesh government on Polavaram project immediately.He pointed out that the revised estimates of the project have been put at 55,548.87 crore by the technical committee, but the same is yet to be approved by the Centre.
He reminded the Union home minister that the Centre has agreed to release 12,911.15 crore for implementing the relief and rehabilitation (R&R) package.But since then, as per the Lidar Survey, 48 additional habitations in 36 villages and colonies are to be shifted to safer places.
The CM underlined that the AP government needs 17,144.06 crore to implement the R&R package and construct Polavaram project as per the revised estimates.He further said Polavaram is the lifeline of Andhra Pradesh and urged Amit Shah to intervene in the matter and ensure that the revised estimates are accepted and R&R package released immediately.
He also appealed to Shah to take effective steps to ensure that the Telangana government clears dues of Rs 7,230 crore from its discoms to Andhra Pradesh Power Generation Corporation (APGENCO) for the power supplied between 2014 and 2017.
During the 45-minute meeting at Shah’s residence, Reddy flagged these issues and requested him to address them in the interest of people of Andhra Pradesh.
