Andhra Pradesh Government contemplates releasing comprehensive water policy: CM Chandrababu Naidu

N. Chandrababu Naidu plans comprehensive water policy for Andhra Pradesh, focusing on river linking and conservation efforts.

Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu said the Government contemplated releasing a comprehensive water policy that includes linking of rivers and water management and conservation that would make Andhra Pradesh (A.P.) drought-free.

He suggested to Bauer & Company to finish the construction of the Polavaram diaphragm wall before March 2026 so that the overall project work could be expedited. 

Taking stock of the status of irrigation projects in a review meeting on the Water Resources Department (WRD) on Wednesday (October 23, 2024) evening, Mr. Naidu said due emphasis has to be laid on the inter-linking of rivers. 

Officials informed the CM that dewatering in the Earth-Cum-Rock Fill (ECRF) dam area was going on at a brisk pace, which brought down the water level from 19 to 16 metres. About 0.29 TMCFT of water has been removed so far.

On being told that land acquisition and Relief & Rehabilitation (R&R) package under Phase-I of the Polavaram project requires ₹7,213 crore, Mr. Naidu ordered that funds be released in instalments as the work progresses. 

Further, the CM enquired about increasing the capacity of the Handri-Neeva main canal. Officials stated that a sum of ₹2,561 crore was needed to complete the lining of Handri-Neeva canals thereby augmenting their capacities. 

Mr. Naidu instructed the officials to complete Phase-I of the Chintalapudi lift irrigation scheme, which was estimated to cost ₹2,043 crore, by the next season and resolve land acquisition issues in a week. He called for an action plan for linking Godavari and Penna rivers and bringing water to Balaji reservoir through the Somasila-Swarnamukhi link canal.