The issue of river water linkage to provide water to the parched Rayalaseema region rocked the Andhra Pradesh Assembly on Monday. Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu came down heavily on the YSRCP blaming that their actions were detrimental to the interests of the region. He said the track record of the TDP is to give a transparent and clean government while the track record of the Congress and YSRCP was that of corruption.

“We will not allow Jalayagnam to become dhanayagnam,” he said and added that come what may the government would supply water for drinking and irrigation purposes from the Pattiseema lift irrigation project. He said he was determined to make the region drought proof and assured that this would not affect the interests of East and West Godavari districts.

The Chief Minister said the project was aimed at providing drinking and irrigation water to the Rayalaseema districts, mainly Anantapur and Chittoor. Only the excess water, which was draining into sea, will be diverted to the Krishna river basin through Pattiseema project. Naidu announced that his party and the NDA government will ensure that the Polavaram Project would be completed by the Centre, by 2018.

He also said since the completion of the Polavaram project will take at least five years, the proposed Rs 1,300 crore Pattiseema lift irrigation project will bridge the gap in providing water to the Rayalaseema. Naidu said his government followed a transparent procedure in conducting bids for construction of the project through online and granted permission to the eligible company. Irrigation Minister Devineni Umamaheswara Rao said the TD government had invited open tenders through online and any one could file from their office, including Jagan. He said the project was sanctioned to the L&T without mobilization advance to ensure accountability.

He also said the government had inserted a new condition in the contract that if the project was not completed within the specified time, the government would not release the amount.