New Delhi: The Andhra Pradesh government last week resumed the construction of the dam for the Polavaram irrigation project. The Union finance ministry releasing Rs 2,300 crore in advance in October last year has given a fresh impetus to the project, stuck since 2019 due to a lack of funds.
The fund’s release started after the Chandrababu Naidu-led Telugu Desam Party (TDP) joined hands with the Bharatiya Janata Party to form the government at the Centre in June last year. At the time, the Centre conveyed its no-objection to Rs 10,911 crore in additional funding for the project. Then, in July last year, the Centre reimbursed the Rs 400 crore that the Andhra Pradesh government had spent on the project before releasing Rs 2,300 crore in advance in October 2024, with the physical project work picking up pace then, two senior irrigation department officials with the Andhra Pradesh government told ThePrint.
“For the project, we were carrying out some supporting activities, but work picked up pace after the release of funds last October. Then, last week, we started construction of a new diaphragm wall [of the dam],” one of the officials said on the condition of anonymity.
The 2019 floods washed away the old diaphragm wall of the dam, which had cost nearly Rs 442 crore to build. Built below the ground, the diaphragm makes up the core of the main dam, restricting seepage from upstream to downstream.
Explaining the delay in the dam work, the second irrigation department official said on the condition of anonymity: “There was no unanimity on whether to repair the diaphragm wall or to build a new one. Also, the state government did not have funds to continue. Only last year, things started moving after a team of international experts—constituted by the Union Jal Shakti ministry—recommended the construction of a new diaphragm wall. And then, the Centre also released funds.”
The funds released by the Centre will be used to complete the new diaphragm wall and clear the resettlement and rehabilitation dues, the official added.
“Once 60 percent of the diaphragm wall is completed, work will start on the main earth-cum-rock filled structure of the dam. Then, they will go on parallelly,” the second official said.
The dam has been in the works for over 20 years, with roughly Rs 24,000 crore spent already. However, it is still only half-complete. Over the past several years, the Centre and the Andhra Pradesh government have been locking horns over the actual cost and funding of the dam, sources in the Jal Shakti ministry said.
Once ready, the Polavaram dam, with its 120 thousand million cubic feet (TMC) storage capacity, will directly or indirectly benefit all the 26 districts of Andhra Pradesh. It will help irrigate 7.2 lakh acres of land, meet the drinking water needs of 28 lakh people, and help generate 960 MW of power at the hydropower plant coming up near it.
The new deadline to complete the dam up to a 41.15-metre level—sufficient for the dam to become operational—is July-December 2027.
If the pace of work had not decreased, the Rs 47,725-crore Polavaram multi-irrigation project would have been ready by its original deadline in 2018.
Centre changes funding format
A senior Jal Shakti ministry official, who did not want to be named, told ThePrint that to speed up the completion of the Polavaram project, the finance ministry decided to change the funding format after June 2024.
“While earlier the state government spent funds and claimed reimbursements from the Centre, now it has been decided that the Centre will give advance to the Andhra government. Once the state government has spent 75 percent of the funds, they can request for the next advance,” the official said.
The official added that the change would help the Andhra government tide over the funds shortage. “The idea is to complete the project that has been in the making for over 20 years,” the official said.
While work on the project started in 2004-05, it was only during the 2014 bifurcation of the undivided Andhra Pradesh into two states—Telangana and Andhra Pradesh—when the Polavaram dam was declared a national project. It means the state government would execute the project on behalf of the Centre and get reimbursed for every penny.
The project includes an earth-cum-rock filled dam, two canals, and a 960 MW hydropower plant, planned in two phases. In the first phase, the Centre will give an advance required to complete the dam to the storage level of the reservoir (up to 41.15 m), allowing the impounding of 120 TMC of water.
The proposal for the second phase is to increase the reservoir level to 45.72 metres, but there is no clarity on when that phase will start. “Our priority is to complete the dam up to 41.15 metres, so benefits start flowing to the people,” the first state irrigation department official, quoted earlier, said.
(Edited by Madhurita Goswami)
Also Read: Govt’s lateral entry scheme to hire pvt sector specialists being overhauled, unlikely to return soon
Explore expert cricket predictions and match insights at Pro Ace Predictions. Stay updated on leagues like the Big Bash and TNPL, and join exciting contests. Visit Pro Ace Predictions for detailed analytics and engaging predictions.