Scrutiny of Polavaram project revised cost estimates reaches final stage

VIJAYAWADA: The scrutiny of the revised cost estimates (RCE) of the Polavaram Irrigation Project (PIP) is said to have reached the final stage. The Central Water Commission (CWC) is likely to forward the RCE to the Union ministry of water resources soon, following which the final approval would be given.

Speaking to TNIE, Secretary of Water Resources Shashibhushan Kumar said, “The scrutiny of the RCE reached the final stage. As per our understanding, the CWC will send a note on the revised costs to the Union ministry in a week. Then, the Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) meeting will be held to give the clearance.” The note is expected to be sent to the ministry before Sankranti.

Once the TAC approves the RCE, the Union ministry of finance will formally give the final clearance. “Even by the standards of the CWC, it has taken a long time for the approval of the PIP’s RCE. However, we expect that we will get final clearance in a month or so,” an official observed.

For the record, the RCE was submitted to the CWC in August 2017 and has been under examination ever since. Since the cost was raised from Rs 16,010 crore (2010-11) to Rs 57,940 crore (2013-14), the CWC is said to have been going through all the details thoroughly. The major reason for the drastic cost escalation is due to the new land acquisition Act enacted in 2014. From 2,934 crore in 2010-11, the land acquisition, rehabilitation and resettlement (LARR) costs increased to Rs 33,255 crore after the legislation of the new land acquisition Act. Due to the cost escalation, the CWC has been raising various queries for the last year. The State government has even stationed four teams in New Delhi to clarify all the queries.

The approval of the RCE will be a fillip to the State government, which is spending money on the national project. The money spent by the government is being reimbursed by the Centre. Due to the delay in the approval of the RCE, the State government is yet to get a reimbursement of Rs 3,722 crore from the Centre. Water Resources Minister Devineni Umamaheswara Rao said that the approval of the RCE will ensure enough flow of funds, which will help in completing the project as per the stipulated time.