Polavaram Project Lagging Behind Due to 'Political Interference' in Andhra Pradesh: Nitin Gadkari

Politicization in Andhra Pradesh has hindered completion of the Polavaram irrigation project, says BJP's Nitin Gadkari. He emphasizes the need for water conservation and promoting rural and tribal economy to address migration. Despite India's agricultural production, global prices are set by others. The NDA government is encouraging ethanol production to reduce fossil fuel imports and investing heavily in road infrastructure in Andhra Pradesh.

The mega Polavaram irrigation project aiming to take the water from Godavari river up to south Tamil Nadu was not completed due to ''politics'' in Andhra Pradesh, senior BJP leader Nitin Gadkari said on Thursday.

Addressing a rally in Araku Lok Sabha constituency in support of BJP candidate K Geetha, he said migration to urban areas from rural and tribal areas in India was due to the wrong economic policy of the previous governments, while asserting that the present NDA regime is now planning on how to make the rural and agriculture and tribal economy grow.

Talking about water resources utilisation, Gadkari said that there was no proper planning and priorities after independence during former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru’s time.

Stating that at present agriculture and its allied sectors contribute only 12 per cent to the country’s GDP, Gadkari said he is confident that if the water is made available in rural and tribal areas of India, the growth would be tripled.

''I (when he was previously water resources minister) sanctioned a big and important project in Andhra Pradesh-Polavaram.

Actually, the project cost was Rs 60,000 crore and I visited the site of Polavaram four times when Chandrababu (TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu) was the chief minister of Andhra Pradesh. I am really unhappy because of the politics in the state, still the Polavaram project is not yet completed,'' he said.

He said his idea was to take water from Godavari up to down south of Tamil Nadu through Krishna, Penna and Cauvery Rivers.

Gadkari said the Centre has given special priority to water conservation, storage, drinking water, and to completing the big dams and projects in the country.

The union minister said despite India being the leading producer of sugar, corn and rice, their rates globally are decided by other countries.

He said the NDA government has been encouraging the making of ethanol from sugarcane juice, molasses, broken rice, food grains, corn, bamboo and rice straw, aiming to cut the huge import bill for fossil fuel.

The former BJP president said the Centre has been spending huge amounts on road projects such as Visakhapatnam and Raipur (Rs 35,000 crore) and Rajahmundry to Vizianagaram Greenfield Express Highway (Rs 22,000 crore) in Andhra Pradesh.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)