Amravati: Telugu Desam Party leader and former minister Devineni Umamaheswara Rao on Sunday slammed chief minister YS Jaganmohan Reddy, and held him responsible for not progressing with regards to the Polavarm Project.
He questioned the chief minister on why he had not sought the support of the Prime Minister and other Union ministers on the Polavaram project. He further alleged that “In the TDP rule, former CM Chandrababu Naidu visited Delhi 29 times and brought all the necessary funds and approvals for completing 71 per cent project works,”
The TDP leader blamed the chief minister for holding a review meeting on the Polavaram project without actually making any progress in that regard. On the other hand, the officials were being asked to take responsibility for getting the funds from the Center.
Devineni Uma expressed his displeasure over the negligence of the YSRCP regime saying that “it was damaging the prospects of farmers all over the State. In the past, they promised Polavaram water by June 2021 but now, they are talking about the next Kharif,”
Reddy expressed his concerns over the displacement of 1.10 Lakh evacuees and their uncertain future, most of whom are Adivasis who were not having proper facilities in rehabilitation camps.
“In June 2020 itself, the Government promised to provide houses for 18,000 dam oustees’ families. But no efforts were made in that regard. Jagan Reddy had palaces in four to five cities while the displaced Polavaram families did not have a single roof over their heads.” he further added.
He further questioned the chief minister over the allocation of Rs 19 lakhs per acre as relief funds, “ During his pre-poll Padayatra, Jagan Reddy promised to give Rs. 10 lakh per acre and implement the 2013 land acquisition act for the Polavaram evacuees. He also announced Rs. 5 lakh per acre for those who already gave away their lands. None of those promises have been implemented in the past two and half years.” concluded the TDP leader.
The TDP leader questioned why the chief minister was not willing to take up the Polavaram issue with the Prime Minister. He demanded that the government clarify to the public to whom Rs. 550 Cr R&R package was paid under the Polavaram resettlement plan.