The Center has made it clear that it will not revise the construction cost of the Polavaram irrigation project that is being built on the Godavari river.
The NDA government clarified that the estimated cost for April 2014 will be borne even if the designs of the Polavaram Project are changed. According to AP, the cost of Polavaram has increased additionally from Rs 5,535 crore to Rs 7,192 crore due to changes in headworks and designs.
In a reply to YSRC parliamentary party leader V Vijay Sai Reddy’s question in Rajya Sabha, Union Jal Sakthi minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat said the Centre would pay for the project only as per the estimates made on April 1, 2014.
As per the state government, the revised project cost is around Rs 55,548 crore. But the Centre approved the project cost of only Rs 20,398.61 crore as of April 1, 2014.
The Andhra Pradesh government said the CWC had made changes to some of the designs in the project as desired. It said the state had undertaken additional works on cofferdam, the foundation works, spillway, diaphragm wall works, chipping and spillway concrete. However, the Center has recently clarified that no additional funds will be allocated for the project.