Time to expedite lifeline of Andhra

Notwithstanding repeated assurances from the state government and the Centre, a shadow of uncertainty continues to hang over the Polavaram multi-purpose irrigation project, the lifeline of Andhra Pradesh. It is unfortunate, since the project was promised to the state following the creation of Telangana in 2014 as compensation, but five years down the line, it is still stuck in a bureaucratic maze with the Centre dragging its feet. Nobody can deny the Centre’s right to audit accounts as Polavaram is a national project. However, there is another aspect to it that has been pushed under the carpet. It is the crucial question of who is going to foot the approximately Rs 33,000 crore bill for the relief and rehabilitation of over one lakh people who will be displaced.

The revised cost estimate of the project, including relief and rehabilitation, now stands at a little over Rs 55,000 crore.  The state government hopes the revised estimate will be approved by the Union Cabinet sooner than later. But then, even to pointed queries by MPs from both the YSRC and the TDP, in the first half of the Budget Session of Parliament, the Centre remained evasive at best and unconvincing at worst on the issue of relief and rehabilitation. It would be grave injustice if the Centre were to put the onus on the state. After all, the AP Reorganisation Act, 2014, specifically says the Central government shall execute the project. Its silence on the relief and rehabilitation package is puzzling. Besides, the Centre has not taken any concrete initiative thus far to address the concerns of Odisha, which fears the project will result in the submergence of many villages and cause adverse environmental impact within its territory. 
It is time to resolve these pending issues.

The project is designed to irrigate 7.2 lakh acres and supply drinking water to 28.5 lakh people, including residents of the proposed executive capital Visakhapatnam. It is far more important to the state than anything else and it is the responsibility of the Centre to expedite it so that it could be completed on time next year.