On the day when the Union Water Resources minister Uma Bharathi handed over a cheque of Rs 1981 crore as the first installment of NABARD loan for the construction of Polavaram project, the Telangana Irrigation Minister T harish Rao said that the state government has urged the Centre to stop the construction of this project.

It may be recalled that at a specially arranged function in New Delhi, union ministers Uma Bharathi, Arun Jatiley and Venkaiah Naidu have asserted Centre’s commitment to provide financial assistance for early completion of the project, Rao also said that the TRS government has appealed the National Green Tribunal (NSG) to stop the works of Polavaram project in Andhra Pradesh.

Countering allegations of Congress member Ponguleti Sudhakar Reddy the legislative council, that the state government did not act on the issue, Harish Rao said the state government has lodged a complaint with the NGT stating that there was threat to Bhadrachalam temple due to Polavaram project and had demanded the NGT to study the issue through an expert panel. TS government has appealed the NGT to stop the construction works of Polavaram until the issue is cleared, the minister added.

The Minister said that Telangana state government did not borrow even a single rupee for the irrigation projects. Elaborating on the irrigation projects, the minister said that the TRS government has spent Rs 22,000 till now while the Congress government spent Rs 39,000 crore in 10 years and left many projects incomplete.