The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh News : Grandiose irrigation plan set in motion

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Friday, May 06, 2005

Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

Grandiose irrigation plan set in motion

M. Malleswara Rao

One-year rule of YSR; Rs. 46,000 crores to be spent on 26 projects before next elections

WORK IN PROGRESS: A view of the Bhoopathipalem project site in East Godavari district. - Photo: C.V. Subrahmanyam

HYDERABAD: The irrigation profile of any State can hardly change in a short span. One year into office, the Rajasekhara Reddy Government is racing against time to disprove this theory and redeem its election pledge.

If all goes well, the State's irrigation scenario will undergo a sea change, thanks to Dr. Reddy's ambitious programme to construct 26 projects in a single go at a cost of Rs. 46,000 crores before the next elections. The aim is to utilise part of the nearly 4,500 tmcft of waters that remain untapped from the rivers of Godavari, Krishna and Penna.

This will bring a whopping 65 lakh acres under the plough before then, reversing the tragic story of suicide by farmers and low contribution of agriculture to the gross state domestic product (GSDP). Quite a lofty goal compared to the mere 136 lakh acres irrigated in the past 50 years but the task is evidently possible.

First of its kind

Arguably the biggest-ever irrigation programme of its kind in the country, it may yield benefits from the kharif 2006 itself. By then, eight projects such as Thotapalli and Pushkaram, for which a two-year timeframe, is fixed for completion will be ready, albeit partially.

However, a spate of public interest litigations against the method adopted for selection of tenders have put the brakes on the Congress Government's grandiose programme.

Although it has come out unscathed from the legal hassles, there is no let-up in the attack by the main Opposition party, the Telugu Desam, that large-scale corruption (Rs. 4,000 crores) is involved in finalising the tenders.

Telugu Desam leaders allege that project estimates have been altered overnight by officials to benefit contractors causing a drain of Rs. 600 crores on the exchequer in respect of the Sriramsagar Flood Flow canal alone.

Moreover, 13 out of the 26 projects have no Central clearances.

Unmindful of this, the Government is going full steam ahead in executing the projects. Today, earth work is in full swing on canals and dams at several places.

P. Sitapati Rao, Irrigation Advisor, however, says that the `engineering, procurement and construction' (EPC) route adopted by the Government in finalising the contracts have, in fact, saved Rs. 3,000 crores so far. "The Telugu Desam leaders are bent upon thwarting the projects, lest they bring my Government a good name," says the Chief Minister.

Unique experiment

In a unique experiment, the Government has initiated open debate to clear public apprehensions about corruption. "These debates have served little purpose since the Government is unwilling to rectify the irregularities though accepting them as mistakes," says the TDP MLA, S. Maruti.

Fund mobilisation for the projects is unlikely to pose a problem. Dr. Reddy's Government has allocated the highest-ever Rs. 6,350 in the 2005-06 budget. Moreover, financial institutions have offered to lend Rs. 10,000 crores for irrigation projects though Austria has not fulfilled its promise to lend Rs. 4,300 crores, insisting on Central guarantee.

Mega projects

Five mega projects such as Polavaram and Dummagudem will require another Rs. 30,000 crores, to harness Godavari waters. The plan envisages to transfer 280 tmcft from the bounteous Godavari to the heavily strained Krishna by two link canals and help divert water to Telangana, a giant step towards regional balance. The Rajasekhara Reddy Government has four more years to establish that all these are not tall claims but within the realms of possibility.

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