The Communist Party of India and the YSR Congress on Wednesday opposed the moves by the Central government to reduce the height of the Polavaram Project. The two parties said that they would lead agitation in the state if the Centre takes a decision to reduce the height of the project. They also asked Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu to speak on the issue.
They alleged that the Central government had planned to bring down the height of the Polavaram Project from 45.72 feet to 41 feet. This was to avoid compensation to the project displaced families, the CPI and the YSR Congress said.
CPI State secretary K Ramakrishna alleged that the Central government had proposed to bring down the height of the Polavaram project. They were now building another diaphragm wall in the place of the one constructed earlier, he said. The government was doing survey of the project to start the construction of the new diaphragm wall, he said.
In the process, the Central government had proposed to bring down the height of the project, he said. He alleged that the State government too had accepted the proposal. Ramakrishna wanted the chief minister to make a statement on the issue. He said that the CPI would not allow the State or the Central government to bring down the height of the project.
Meanwhile, former minister and YSR Congress leader, Karumuri Venkata Nageswara Rao, blamed the state and the Central government against the proposal to reduce the Polavaram project height. He alleged that the two governments have decided to reduce the project height from 45 feet to 41 feet.
He said that the YSR Congress would not allow any government to reduce the project height. The reduction in the height would not help the state in anyway, he said. He further said that the reduction in the height would deprive the fruits of the project to the state.
He said that the YSR Congress would lead a movement of the farmers if the project height is reduced. The party would organize the farmers of Godavari and Krishna rivers and fight against the move, Nageswara Rao said.
