Minister Nimmala Rama Naidu says Polavaram civil works are 90% complete and targeted for March 2027, while Rs. 600 crore will be released to Veligonda oustees.
Amaravati: Water Resources Minister Nimmala Rama Naidu said the civil works of the Polavaram project have reached 90 per cent completion, with the overall project progress at 77 per cent, and reiterated that the government is targeting completion by March 2027.
Addressing the media at the Secretariat after a review meeting chaired by Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu, the Minister said land acquisition for Polavaram was 94 per cent complete, while rehabilitation and resettlement of project-affected families had reached 52 per cent.
The Chief Minister has directed officials to complete rehabilitation, land acquisition and colony-related works by December, allowing sufficient time before the project is commissioned, Rama Naidu said.
The Minister said the original completion schedule was December 2027, but the Chief Minister had directed officials to finish the project by March 2027 ahead of the upcoming Pushkarams.
He said Gap-1 ECRF works were 48 per cent complete and Gap-2 works 36 per cent complete. Despite a recent Godavari flood of around 14 lakh cusecs, construction continued without interruption.
The government is also planning to develop Polavaram as a tourism hub, including beautification of the spillway, an iconic connectivity bridge and river-based tourism between Polavaram and Bhadrachalam.
Rama Naidu said the Polavaram Left Main Canal would help supply Godavari water to North Andhra and Visakhapatnam.
He said upcoming data centres, including the proposed Google facility, would require around 3 TMC of water annually, which would be supplied through the Polavaram Left Main Canal.
He said the coalition government had spent around Rs. 1,500-1,800 crore on critical Left Main Canal works after the previous government allegedly neglected the project.
The Minister said the government would release Rs. 600 crore to Veligonda project-affected families by August 24.
He said Rs. 318 crore had already been released for rehabilitation and resettlement, while remaining payments would be made according to a schedule beginning August 17.
Works related to regulators, tunnel lining, feeder canal works and other components are also being accelerated.
The Chief Minister directed officials to prepare an irrigation calendar and submit monthly work-progress reports for 36 priority projects, Rama Naidu said.
He added that the government was also working to revive irrigation lift schemes. Of the 1,040 lift schemes in the State, only around 150 were fully operational earlier, he claimed. The government plans to undertake repairs and maintain the schemes for 10 years.
With concerns over El Niño and Super El Niño conditions, the government has decided to give first priority to drinking water, the Minister said.
He said water availability would be closely monitored until June 2027, with district collectors coordinating the Irrigation, Revenue and Agriculture departments.
Water beyond drinking-water requirements should be used only for dry crops, he said, adding that paddy cultivation during the current kharif season would receive priority only in the Godavari Delta.
