Furore over CM’s stand
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After Chief Minister N. Kiran Kumar Reddy’s categorical statement of going ahead with the construction of Polavaram Dam retaining the present design, Congress leaders are now divided on regional lines. Both sides expressed their unequivocal views for and against the decision. While Government Whip in the Legislative Council Rudraraju Padmaraju strongly defended the CM's statement, MP Palvai Govardhan Reddy, MLCs K. R. Amos and K. Yadava Reddy opposed the statement equally strongly.
Mr Padmaraju said Polavaram Dam will be a boon to the Godavari Delta farmers and was contemplated six decades ago. He said there are several advantages for the state due to Polavaram construction including diversion of 80 TMC ft of water to Krishna projects. Mr Govardhan Reddy said he failed to understand why Mr Kiran Kumar Reddy has turned the construction of Polavaram Dam into a prestige issue when the Centre itself had withheld the environmental clearance for the project over objections from neighbouring Chhattisgarh and Odisha states. He also expressed his concern about the displacement of tribals due to submergence of land due to the dam.
Mr Govardhan Reddy said it was sheer waste of nearly Rs 4,000 crore invested so far, as innumerable objections have been filed in courts and prolonged litigation has made it difficult for construction to go ahead. He advised the CM to stop the dam project go for alternative proposals instead as suggested by engineering experts like T. Hanumantha Rao. “Instead of constructing the dam, it would be better for the government to change the designs and go for construction of three barrages to avoid submergence,” Mr Govardhan Reddy said.
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