The senior leaders of the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and MLAs, Gorantla Butchaiah Chowdary and Nimmala Ramanaidu on Monday demanded that justice be done to the Polavarm displaced.
The MLAs told media persons at the party headquarters here that the Chief Minister, Jagan Mohan Reddy, is misleading the Assembly by uttering total lies on Polavaram project. The Chief Minister is completely evasive when the TDP members demanded that justice be done to the project oustees.
The Chief Minister is taking the Assembly for a ride by forcibly sending the main Opposition TDP members outside the House, the senior TDP leaders stated. They said that when Jagan Mohan Reddy visited Polavaram as part of his pada yatra, not even foundation stone was laid for the project.
Nimmala Ramanaidu, who is the deputy leader of the TDP Legislature Party, is so specific that Jagan does not have even basic knowledge about the diaphragm wall and that the diaphragm wall is built below the surface. After Jagan Mohan Reddy became the Chief Minister the future of the Polavaram project is pushed into a dilemma, he said.
He mentioned that during Chandrababu Naidu’s regime, 71 per cent of the project works were completed while not even three per cent works have been completed after Jagan came to power. Even the Central Water Works wing has clearly mentioned this in its report, he said adding that the Minister for Irrigation too does not any knowledge where is the diaphragm wall is constructed, he ridiculed.
What is more ridiculous is that the Chief Minister on the floor of the House says that the spill-way should be constructed before the coffer-dam is built. Chandrababu, who wanted to complete the Polavaram project works by June 2020, simultaneously took up the construction works of coffer-dam, diaphragm wall, spill-way and earth-cum-rockfill dam, Ramanaidu stated.
The TDLP deputy leader pointed out that the IIT, Hyderabad experts in their report submitted to the Polavaram Project Authority (PPA) clearly mentioned that the damage caused to the diaphragm wall is not a natural calamity but it got damaged only because of some human blunder.
What Jagan Reddy will say on this and what is his reply, he asked and made it clear that the Chief Minister lost the credibility of the people and he has no right to continue in power any longer.
Violating the norms, Jagan resorted to ‘reserve’ tendering in the name of reverse tendering, he said and pointed out that the Polavaram Project Authority Chief Executive Officer, RK Jain, has clearly stated that it is not correct to change the contractor for the project works. He is also of the opinion that the Chief Minister is doing great injustice to the Polavaram displaced, who sacrificed their lands for the project.
Ramanaidu asked as to why Jagan Mohan Reddy did not condemn the statement made by his Telangana counterpart, K Chandrasekhar Rao, that the Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister has agreed to reduce the height of the Polavarm dam from 45.75 metres to 41.15 metres. This clearly shows that he has some underhand dealing with Chandrasekhar Rao and Jagan is mortgaging the State’s interests for the sake of coming out of his cases, he stated.
Butchaiah Chowdary made an appeal to the people to closely observe the Assembly proceedings and the Chief Minister is collusion with the Speaker is making a mockery of the Assembly proceedings.
The Chief Minister turned the Legislative Assembly into a cinema house, he said and asked what happened to the promise made to the Polavaram displaced that he will pay an additional Rs 5 lakh each when he comes to power. Later, Jagan himself increased it Rs 10 lakh each, he said and stated that not even a single rupee is paid to them till now.
Butchaiah Chowdary said that Jagan is simply nodding his head before Chandrasekhar Rao only to protect his personal interests and to safeguard his properties in Telangana.
