Govt. contemplating releasing water from Polavaram upper cofferdam by July 2026, says Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu

Govt. contemplating releasing water from Polavaram upper cofferdam by July 2026, says Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu. The idea will work out, provided the right and left connectivities are completed by then, says the Chief Minister. The task is to complete the Phase-1 works before July 2027 and gear up for the Godavari Pushkarams, he avers. The Polavaram project, which is the lifeline of Andhra Pradesh, has been sabotaged for mere political vendetta, personal ego and immaturity. History will never forgive the blunders committed by the YSRCP government, he says.

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu has said the government is contemplating releasing  water through gravity from the upper cofferdam of the Polavaram irrigation project by July 2026.

“The idea will work out, provided the right and left connectivities are completed,” Mr. Naidu told the media after inspecting the works at the Polavaram irrigation project site and holding a review meeting with the officials on Thursday.

“I remember saying that water can be provided through gravity from the upper cofferdam. We are working on it,” he said.

“The task before the government now is to complete the Polavaram project before July 2027 and gear up for the Godavari Pushkarams. If technical issues do not crop up, the Phase-1 works should be completed by July 2027. Else, they should be completed by December 2027,” the Chief Minister said.

Explaining the work schedule, Mr. Naidu said that Gap-1 of the Earth-cum-Rock Fill  (ECRF) dam would be completed by February 2026. “The government is spending more than ₹990 crore on construction of the new diaphragm wall, which will be completed by December 2026,” he said.

“All other works are likely to be completed by the end of 2026. The ECRF Gap-2 works will be completed by December 2027, if there are no technical issues,” he said.

Regarding Rehabilitation and Resettlement (R&R) works, Mr. Naidu said they would be completed by 2026. “The government requires ₹6,270 crore for Phase-1 A and Phase-1 B works,” he said.