A canal system for Anantapur district that would irrigate 3.5 lakh hectares by drawing water from the Krishna through the Handri-Neeva Sujala Sravanthi (HNSS) project, and
a water grid project in
the State at a cost of ₹2,000 crore are some of the promises that the Telugu Desam Party was unable to fulfil in its five-year tenure.
Execution of the branch canal network was stalled, and re-tendering too did not happen, leaving the Krishna’s waters flowing only in a limited area along the main canals.
Despite having allocation of 32.5 tmcft from HNSS and 10 tmcft from the Tungabhadra HLC, Chittoor district continued to struggle for irrigation due to non-execution of canal works.
Uravakonda MLA Y. Visveswara Reddy described the bringing of water through HNSS at a cost of ₹12 crore per tmcft as criminal waste when the end user (farmer) in Anantapur is deprived of irrigation facility.
However, observers say that if TDP is to be blamed for some stalled projects, the BJP, the TDP’s ally of four years, also has to take its share of blame despite its oft-repeated claims of setting up Central institutions in the State and infusing funds to the tune of ₹50,000 crore.
‘Lack of support’
Communist Party of India (Marxist) district secretary V. Rambhupal blamed a lack of support from the State Government to groundnut farmers, who had lost crop due to -47% deficit rainfall. Despite the Chief Minister’s promise in November to pay ₹967 crore of input subsidy, it has not been granted till elections were announced.
Only the fourth and fifth phases of crop loan waivers (₹1,126 crore with 10%interest) promised in 2014 were released through a G.O. on March 12.