India News | Chandrababu Naidu 'destroyed' Polavaram, 'not Eligible to Be MLA': AP CM Jagan

Amaravati, Sep 19 (PTI) Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy on Monday hit out at his predecessor N Chandrababu Naidu for "destroying" the Polavaram multi-purpose project on river Godavari, and said the former CM is "not eligible to be an MLA".

Intervening during Question Hour in the Legislative Assembly on the Polavaram rehabilitation issue, the Chief Minister blamed the previous government for leaving behind major pending work in the project.

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"This man (Chandrababu Naidu)...who claims to have 40 years of experience and 14 years as Chief Minister...see his intelligence. He is not even eligible to be an MLA. By going ahead with the construction of Polavaram without proper planning, he caused major damage to the project. But now they are blaming us for the delay in completing the project," the Chief Minister said.

Reddy alleged that the previous government blindly accepted the special financial package granted by the Centre in 2016 because of which the project cost was fixed based on 2011 rates.

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"Now, the Centre has adopted a rigid stance saying it will not enhance the rates. And, it is also not reimbursing the Rs 2,900 crore the state government spent on Polavaram. This is only because of Chandrababu's follies," he said.

The Chief Minister presented a slideshow in the House on the status of the project works in May 2019 and now.

"This is how Chandrababu destroyed the project and we are now forced to repair it. He left a barren land where the (approach) channel was supposed to be built. Huge gaps were left in the two coffer dams and the spillway was also left incomplete. Due to this, the velocity of (Godavari) water caused a breach in the diaphragm wall, which is the key to the main dam," the Chief Minister pointed out.

He said the state government was now trying to undo the damage and complete the Polavaram project on a war-footing.

Referring to the additional compensation he promised to the Project Displaced Families, Reddy said the money would be paid by the time resettlement of the families up to the contour level of 41.15 metres was done.

"I promised to enhance the compensation from Rs 6.86 lakh to Rs 10 lakh each. It will cost Rs 500 crore, which is nothing for me. I am pressing the button to distribute Rs 6,500 crore, Rs 6,700 crore and Rs 4,700 crore (for various welfare schemes)...this Rs 500 crore is nothing," the Chief Minister said.

A government order on additional compensation was issued on June 30, 2021, he said.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)