Govt will go ahead with decision to construct Polavaram dam: Venkaiah

Visakhapatnam: There is no looking back on the Polavaram irrigation project in Andhra Pradesh and the government will stick to its decision to construct the dam, Union Urban Development Minister M Venkiah Naidu said today. [caption id=“attachment_1572161” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Venkaiah Naidu said there was no looking back at the decision to construct Polavaram dam. PTI[/caption] “The government will go ahead with the decision to construct the dam,” Venkaiah told reporters here. Polavaram Project is a multi-purpose irrigation project. This dam across the Godavari river is under construction and located in West Godavari and East Godavari districts in Andhra Pradesh. The project has been facing political roadblocks with the CPI (M) and the Telangana Rashtra Samiti raising their objections on the issues of submerging agricultural lands and the detriment to Telangana, respectively. The TRS had even observed bandh in Telangana last month. He also said that there would be no rethink on granting special status to Andhra Pradesh and the decision will be implemented soon. “All the Central government institutions which exist in Telangana will remain there itself but new institutions will also be constructed in Andhra Pradesh although it will take time for the decisions to become reality,” Venkaiah said. The BJP’s stand is that the development of Andhra Pradesh will be through a decentralised approach. To a query on new railway zonal headquarters and the captive mines for Rashtrya Ispat Nigam Limited and solid waste management, the minister said that the Central and state governments will look into these issues. “It will take time as the government is just a few days old,” he added. On the development of smart cities, Venkaiah said that the decision in this regard will be taken within three months. “A concrete plan needed for development of smart cities is yet to be finalised. The smart cities will not actually be new developed cities. Rather, existing cities will be made smarter, as developing new smart cities from scratch will require loads of money. Opinions and ideas will be taken from experts, general public and even from other states,” the minister said. To a query, Venkaiah said, “While the Congress was in power for many decades they did not do much. They should graciously accept the defeat, be patient and respect people’s verdict.” PTI