The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh News : Public accounts panel pulls up irrigation officials

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Dec 29, 2007
ePaper

Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

Public accounts panel pulls up irrigation officials

Staff Reporter

Kakinada: The Andhra Pradesh Public Accounts Committee (PAC) took serious note of the Irrigation Department’s failure to spend the funds earmarked for different projects in the district and sought a detailed explanation for the lapses before the PAC reviews the department’s performance early next year.

At a meeting held at the Zilla Parishad meeting hall here on Friday, the PAC found that the cost of Pushkar Lift Irrigation Scheme escalated to about Rs. 615 crore as against the original estimated cost of Rs. 298 crore and a sum of Rs. 34 crore allocated for Yeleru right canal was surrendered. Similarly, the PAC found no clarity in the accounts related to Polavaram project on which Rs. 1,400 crore has already been spent.

Speaking to mediapersons after the meeting, PAC chairman and Tuni MLA Yanamala Ramakrishnudu said up to Rs. 300 crore was spent on Pushkar scheme till now and the project cost is bound to increase further.

He said officials’ claims to have created additional ayacut is not reflected in the field and they could not give proper reasons for the slow pace of works. The increase in project’s total cost was mainly attributed to the hike in cost of land acquisition by about Rs. 110 crore. The officials had no satisfactory answer to PAC queries.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Andhra Pradesh