Hyderabad, June 28: Congress leaders from Coastal Andhra region on Sunday questioned the demand by various quarters for a change of design of the Polavaram Project and pleaded politicians from all parties not to hamper the chances of getting a National Project status to Polaravarm.
Talking to media persons at the CLP on Sunday, Ministers Gade Venkat Reddy, Botsa Satyanarayana, Pilli Subash Chandra Bose and MLC Rudraraju Padmaraju asked how anyone can justify the demands of taking the advice of engineering expert Hanumantha Rao on the design of the Project.
They said that Mr Hanumantha Rao’s word is not supreme and said that other senior engineers from Andhra Pradesh are not lesser than Mr Rao.
The Congress leaders said that the experts from the Central Water Commission had taken a detailed look at the designs of the project and approved them.
They said that they appealed with folded hands to leaders from all parties not to raise aspersions on the Polavaram Project at such a crucial stage. They said that the project is about to be granted a National Project status soon, especially after Chief Minister K Rosaiah has written a letter to the Centre on the subject.
The Andhra Congress leaders said that if aspersions are cast on the design of the project at this stage, then its chances of being granted National Project status will be dented.
They said that they requested all politicians of the state not to hamper the development the project is bringing to the area.
The leaders said that 540 villages will get drinking water, over 7 lakh acres of land will get water for irrigation, 960 MW of electricity will be produced.
They said that raising doubts after getting all clearances, and the work on the ground being started and demanding a change in the design of the project is not right.
They thanked the Chief Minister for ignoring the pressure from various political groups demanding the change in designs and writing to the centre for the National project status with the original designs.
——–INN