Water Resources Minister Ambati Rambabu on July 29 (Saturday) reiterated that the diaphragm wall in the Polavaram project was swept away due to the “inefficiency of the TDP government.”
Former Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu should own responsibility for it, Mr. Rambabu said while addressing the media here.
He said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi too had faulted the “shoddy manner” in which the TDP government dealt with the project.
What prompted Mr. Naidu to undertake the project when it was a national project to be completed by the Central government in compliance with the AP Reorganisation Act, 2014, the Minister questioned.
The diaphragm wall should be built only after completing the spillway, diverting the river and constructing the upper and lower cofferdams, but this was not followed, he said.
As a consequence, the diaphragm wall, which cost the State exchequer about ₹400 crore, was damaged beyond repair. What was ridiculous was the erection of crest gates even before the project was completed, he said.
‘Funds swindled’
The Minister alleged that Mr. Naidu got the project awarded to contractors close to him and swindled huge sums through them.
For instance, the agreement was to pay 2013-14 rates for the works done, but instead 2016-17 rates were made applicable to extract more. He asserted that the project construction was going on at a brisk pace. The spillway and upper cofferdam were completed in 2022, and the lower cofferdam was completed this year. Foundation was laid for the earth-cum-rockfill dam.
