New Delhi: Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu along with Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan called on Union Jal Shakti Minister C R Patil on Thursday and urged him to reimburse the expenditure incurred in constructing the left and right canals of the Polavaram project.

The Chief Minister also requested the Union Minister to extend full support for the timely completion of the mega irrigation project. In a post on 'X', the CM sought Patil's support for the Polavaram–Banakacherla link project, which aims to divert 200 TMC of floodwaters from the Godavari River at Polavaram to Banakacherla through a link canal.

According to Naidu, the Polavaram–Banakacherla project will make the state drought-proof by providing drinking water to 80 lakh people and irrigating 3 lakh hectares while supplementing 9.14 lakh hectares.

Furthermore, the CM noted that the project would also facilitate the supply of 20 TMCs of water to industries. In the Assembly last November, Naidu called the Polavaram project the state's lifeline and backbone, vowing to complete it by 2027 "at any cost" despite financial challenges.

Describing it as a "game changer," the Chief Minister said that successfully building the project and interlinking rivers would end famines.