Eluru (AP): Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu wants Pattiseema lift irrigation project to be completed by the end of March.
Naidu today instructed officials from Irrigation Department to complete the work on Pattiseema by March 29. He had laid foundation stone for the Rs 1,200-crore project in West Godavari district on the same date this year.
The Chief Minister visited the project site and reviewed its progress with officials.
The scheme is aimed at linking Godavari and Krishna rivers and providing water to the parched Rayalaseema region.
Once completed, it would be the first interlinking of rivers in the country, he said, adding the scheme’s objective is to transfer 8,500 cusecs of water from Godavari to Krishna.
Work on installing five of the 24 pumps has been completed and the rest is under progress, Naidu said.
Though the Government is spending Rs 1,200 crore on the scheme, the same amount of money can be generated by saving crops in the drought-hit Krishna district after transfer of water from Godavari to Krishna in one kharif season, the Chief Minister said.
Naidu said he has asked the Centre to complete by 2018 multi-purpose Polavaram irrigation project, which has been accorded national status. The State Government has so far spent Rs 2,300 crore on the venture on Godavari river.