Split woes: Polavaram, a sticky issue

By SNV Sudhir

Visakhapatnam, Nov 6, 2013: It’s not just Hyderabad that is a contentious issue in bifurcation of the state.  There is another thorny issue- multi purpose Polavaram irrigation project, which may prove to be a ‘headache’ for the union government in the division process.

If the apprehensions of the Seemandhra people on completion of Polavaram project are to be addressed, Bhadhrachalam revenue division that also houses famous lord Rama’s temple should also be included in residuary state post bifurcation.

At present, Bhadhrachalam is in the limits of Khammam district, which is in Telangana.

The Congress Working Committee (CWC) resolution on creation of Telangana basing on which the union cabinet had begun the bifurcation process, has assured that the Polavaram will be declared as a national project and that it would be completely funded by it.

However apprehensions are being raised in Seemandhra region that the Telangana state government, after the state bifurcation, may create hurdles to the completion of the multi crore project which can provide irrigation water to 7.2 lakh acres in upland areas of coastal Andhra, as the villages that may face possible submergence are located in the Telangana region.

Polavaram project is already mired in controversies with governments of Odisha, Chattisgrah and Maharashtra approaching appropriate legal entities to stall the project showing many reasons and it is felt another state government Telangana would add to the list of woes. To assuage these apprehensions a demand is growing in this part of Andhra Pradesh that those villages that may face submergence be included in the residuary state.

Polavaram project is also vital to provide water to Rayalaseema through inter-basin transfer of 45 TMC, to generate 960 MW hydropower, to stabilize and secure the present Godavari and Krishna delta systems, considered the rice bowl of the nation, besides controlling the periodic flood devastation in coastal areas.  The project is also as important as Bhakra-Nangal and Nagarjuna Sagar, the two mighty irrigation projects in the country in the view of interlinking of river waters across the country.

As per the estimates of irrigation experts and the state government Polavaram project submerges 276 villages with an average population  of   642 per village. Of the 276 villages 204 are in the present Khammam district of Telangana.  Out of these 204 villages 121 are in Bhadrachalam Revenue Division and the remaining in Palvancha division.  Bhadhrachalam revenue division was part of East Godavari district in Seemandhra region until 1959.

“We have this apprehension that the future government of Telangana State would not allow Polavaram project because of the submergence. The new Telangana government may create hurdles in land acquisition and rehabilitation to halt the progress of the construction of the project as these are the state subjects.  This concern of Seemandhra people can be addressed only by transferring the land under submergence of the reservoir and land earmarked for rehabilitation of the displaced to the new Andhra Pradesh state,” pointed BJP national executive member, Kambhampati Haribabu, who was the member of Task Force on Interlinking of Rivers.

The Task Force on interlinking project was set up during NDA rule in December, 2002 on the recommendation of the apex court.  However the task force was cancelled when the UPA came to power in 2004.

It would be interesting to see if the Telangana votaries would be ready to forego Bhadhrachalam revenue division which also houses famous lord Rama’s temple.