Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu today said the government is committed to provide water to Rayalaseema region by diverting 100 TMC from Godavari river to Krishna river after completion of Polavaram project.
"The government has so far spent Rs 2250 crores on the Polavaram project works, for which Central government has sanctioned only Rs 800 crore. However, we will complete the project to provide water to the drought-stricken Rayalaseema districts," the CM said.
The under-construction Polavaram Project is a multi-purpose irrigation project which has been accorded national project status by the Central government.
This dam across Godavari river is located in West Godavari district and East Godavari district in Andhra Pradesh and its reservoir spreads in parts of Chhattisgarh and Odisha.
Naidu also appealed to people to conserve water and participate in desilting of ponds, check dams and local canals besides constructing farm ponds to improve ground water.
The CM said the TDP government has successfully linked Godavari and Krishna rivers in a short span of time. He announced that government will take up Krishna-Penna river link scheme.
Naidu came down heavily on previous Congress governments for delayed irrigation projects in the region.
"Ongoing irrigation projects in the region like 'Telugu Ganga', 'Galeru-Nagari Sujala Sravanthi' and 'Handri-Neeva Sujala Sravanthi' were conceived by NT Rama Rao (TDP founder). We are committed to complete these projects and provide water to the region," he said.
