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Tribals in affected villages heave sigh of relief
Tribals in Affected Villages Heave Sigh of Relief. While the Opposition parties in Andhra Pradesh are turning up the heat on Telugu Desam government for its failure to secure adequate funds and assurance on the special status to the State, the Centre’s move to allocate a meagre Rs 100 crore for the multipurpose Polavaram Project has brought cheers for the people, especially tribals who were facing the threat of displacement from their natural habitats.
Girijana Samkshema Parishad to organise Maha Dharna opposing the project on March 30
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Khammam: While the Opposition parties in Andhra Pradesh are turning up the heat on Telugu Desam government for its failure to secure adequate funds and assurance on the special status to the State, the Centre’s move to allocate a meagre Rs 100 crore for the multipurpose Polavaram Project has brought cheers for the people, especially tribals who were facing the threat of displacement from their natural habitats.
It is estimated that the construction of Polavaram Project would cost Rs 16,010 crore. While the AP government’s plan of completing the project in four years appears to be a remote possibility, the people living in the Bhadrachalam Agency region, especially the inhabitants of seven mandals of Khammam district that were merged with the successor state of AP after the State bifurcation, secured some solace.
According to the environmental ministry, the project would affect the lives of more than 2 lakh people in around 276 villages. The project also causes submergence of 12 villages with 17,000 population in Odisha and Chhattisgarh States. The Centre, which reduced the funds to the Water Resources Ministry in the Union Budget, didn’t show any generosity to Polavaram project, though it was accorded national status last year. But for an allocation of Rs 250 crore in the Union Budget-2014- 15 and Rs 100 crore in the 2015- 16 fiscal, there are no signs of additional funds flowing in from the Centre though the cost of the project was escalated up to Rs 16,010 crore by 2010-11. According to Polavaram Project Authority, only a 4.60 per cent of the head-works were executed till November 2014.
The slow pace was mainly due to paucity of funds. Sources said that the contracting agencies are not willing to go ahead with the execution of project works without securing clearance of the pending bills worth around Rs 1,200 crore. Moreover, the government requires at least Rs 2,000 crore to execute the relief and rehabilitation (R&R) package, which includes housing and compensation for lands.
“It’s like a blessing in disguise,” Girijana Samkshema Parishad AP-Telangana State convener Sonde Veeraiah, said, pointing to the meagre fund allocation to Polavaram. “We will get a breather if the allocations are made at this rate. It gives us an opportunity to build a people’s movement in protest against the project,” Veeraiah said, criticising the Telangana government for ignoring their plight after State bifurcation. A Maha Dharna will be conducted at Kukunoor on March 30 opposing the construction of the project, he added.
ADEPUMAHENDER
