Veligonda project inaugurated without completion, needs ₹4,000 crore and two more years for completion, says A.P. Minister

Water Resources Minister Nimmala Rama Naidu addressing the media at the Secretariat on Thursday.
| Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

Alleging that the previous YSRCP government had inaugurated the Veligonda project without completing the key construction works, Andhra Pradesh Water Resources Minister Nimmala Rama Naidu has said that the project still needs ₹4,000 crore for completion and two more years to become fully operational.

Addressing the media at the Secretariat on Thursday, he said the Veligonda project, designed to provide irrigation water to 4.5 lakh acres and drinking water to 25 lakh people, was dedicated to the nation despite major works remaining incomplete.

He claimed that the inauguration was conducted amid heavy security while farmers were kept under house arrest.

The key pending works include the head regulatory structure at Srisailam, the retaining wall, two tunnels, the feeder canal, and rehabilitation colonies for displaced families.

According to the Minister, the Tunnel-1 needs removal of 1.2 lakh cubic metres of road material, while the Tunnel-2 needs excavation of 2 lakh cubic metres of soil, which would take around nine months.

Additionally, drilling and blasting in the Tunnel-2 requires another eight months, and 6.8 km of tunnel lining work remains incomplete. A massive tunnel boring machine (TBM) needs to be removed, which is a time-consuming process. Furthermore, 21.8 km of feeder canal work is still pending.

Mr. Rama Naidu criticised the YSRCP for making allegations against the coalition government in the State, while ignoring their ‘mismanagement’ of the project.

He pointed out that the Veligonda project started in 1996 after then Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu laid the foundation stone. In 2014, his government allocated ₹1,373 crore, of which ₹1,319 crore (96%) was utilised and 30% of the project work had been completed. “However, the previous YSRCP government claimed to have allocated ₹3,518 crore but spent only ₹647 crore (18%),” he alleged.