Andhra Pradesh BJP chief spokesperson Lanka Dinakar. File
| Photo Credit: K.V.S. Giri
Andhra Pradesh BJP chief spokesperson Lanka Dinakar said that the Central Government had released a sum of approximately ₹14,419 crore for the construction of Polavaram after it was declared as a ‘national project’ in compliance with Section 90 of the A.P. Reorganisation Act of 2014.
He claimed that 72% of the project work had been completed before 2019 with the due cooperation of the Central Government.
Addressing media persons in Vijayawada on June 29, Mr. Dinakar said the facts related to the multi-purpose project would have remained a secret if Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu did not expose the manner in which the YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) Government mishandled it.
Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy never showed proof of the alleged corruption in the implementation of the project. The reverse tendering policy was a major impediment, he noted.
Mr. Dinakar said the project cost would have shot up due to the inordinate delay in its construction. Besides, it was mired in corruption after the YSRCP came to power.
Not even 10% of the project work was done during the YSRCP regime. Attempts were made to award the 960-MW hydel power plant contract to companies which had close ties with YSRCP leaders, he said.
A sum of over ₹3,000 crore was estimated to have gone waste due to the damage caused to the diaphragm wall and the earth-cum-rock fill dam. The TDP-Jana Sena Party-BJP Government would strive to complete the project in the next four years, the BJP leader added.