88% of Polavaram project works completed, says Minister

Minister for Water Resources Nimmala Rama Naidu inspected key construction components of the Polavaram Irrigation Project on Thursday, including the right connectivity tunnels, the ECRF dam and the diaphragm wall. 

Speaking to the media after the review, the Minister said that the construction works on the diaphragm wall have reached 950 metres, achieving 75% progress. Overall, the Polavaram project is now 88% complete, he said.

Mr. Rama Naidu criticised the previous YSRCP government, stating that while only 2% progress was recorded in the five years under former Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy, the present government under Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu has achieved nearly 12% progress within its first year. The technically complex right connectivity tunnels, featuring full lining works, have reached 82% completion, while the left connectivity works stood at 62%, he said.

The construction of the buttress dam has been completed, enabling uninterrupted work even during the monsoon season. Alleging that the diaphragm wall constructed earlier was damaged during the YSRCP term, he said the new diaphragm wall is being rebuilt rapidly and would be completed by February.

Stating that rehabilitation and resettlement remained a top priority for the government, the Minister said that ₹2,000 crore had been released within a year to support affected families. He also announced that work on the left main canal was progressing swiftly and that by 2026, the Godavari river waters would be carried up to Anakapalli.

Mr. Rama Naidu claimed that during the previous regime, even Ministers and the then CM Jagan himself were unable to declare a timeline for the completion of the Polavaram project. The present coalition government has restored the project to its intended course after ‘’severe damage during the YSRCP period’’.

“People are witnessing how the project was destroyed under YSRCP rule and how it is now being rebuilt successfully under the alliance government,” the Minister added.