VIJAYAWADA : Andhra Pradesh has got a raw deal with no allocation of funds for the multi-purpose Polavaram irrigation project, health and other sectors in union budget. Polavaram came under sharp focus as the state government is keen on completing the irrigation project by 2021 end to ensure supply of water for cultivation of crops during 2022 Kharif season and also meet drinking water needs of hundreds of villages en route.
Though the revised cost of the project is pegged at Rs 55,546 crore at the 2017–18 price level, union finance ministry’s department of expenditure trimmed it to Rs 47,725. Even this is yet to be approved. This is quite galling as the state government has already incurred an expenditure of Rs 17,124.19 crore on implementation of the project The state had already spent Rs 12,393.48 crore on Polavaram before it was declared a national project on January 23, 2021.
Though Polavaram Project Authority has reimbursed Rs 10,741.46 crore so far to…