Union Cabinet clears Polavaram Authority

• First step in execution of the national project
• The Authority to obtain all clearances for it
• Project to cost `20,000 cr; Centre to bear 90%

New Delhi: The Union Cabinet on Thursday cleared setting up of Polavaram Project Authority (PPA), a special purpose vehicle, for executing the Indira Sagar (Polavaram) Project. It will ensure expeditious execution, regulation and development of the project, while simultaneously ensuring implementation of adequate environmental safeguard measures and proper rehabilitation of the displaced persons. The Polavaram Project Authority headquarters will initially be set up in Hyderabad, which will serve as the common capital for Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.

This is in pursuance of the Andhra Pradesh Reorganization Act 2014 that mandates Polavaram Project to be executed by the Centre as a national project and obtain all requisite clearances, including environmental and forests and rehabilitation and resettlement norms. As a result of this decision, the Centre will fund the project to the extent of 90 per cent of the cost. The project is estimated to cost about Rs 20,000 crore.

Polavaram is a multi-purpose project with an assessed cultivable land of 2.91 lakh hectares, power generation potential of 960 mw, providing 23.44 tmcft water for Visakhapatnam city and Visakhapatnam Steel Plant. An inter-basin transfer of 80 tmcft annually to Krishna River basin is also envisaged. The Polavaram Project comes up on River Godavari, which flows Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. The Polavaram Project Authority under the Central Government, is expected to instill confidence in Telangana and the residuary State of Andhra Pradesh, besides other riparian States of Odisha and Chhattisgarh, in its execution in a transparent and equitable manner.

As it will have representatives from Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, it would ensure effective coordination between the two States. The Polavaram Project Authority will regulate the distribution of power generated from Polavaram Project. It will determine the volume of water stored and flowing in and out of the Polavaram Reservoir .

The Authority will be administrated by a governing body headed by Water Resources Secretary. Its members will be Chief Secretaries of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, besides Joint Secretaries of Department of Expenditure, Ministries of Environment and Forests, Power and Tribal Affairs, apart from representatives of Planning Commission and CEO of the Polavaram Project Authority.