Naidu claiming undue credit for Polavaram canal works, says APCC chief Sharmila

Andhra Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) president Y.S. Sharmila on Thursday accused Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu of taking credit for the irrigation works executed during the tenure of her father and former Chief Minister Y.S.

Rajasekhara Reddy, particularly the canal works associated with the Polavaram project. Ms. Sharmila alleged that Mr. Naidu had opposed the Jalayagnam programme and publicly expressed reservations about the Polavaram project when he was in the Opposition.

“He is now projecting himself as a champion of irrigation and describing the Godavari waters as vital for the State,” she said. The foundation for the Polavaram irrigation system had been laid during the YSR government, which obtained administrative approvals in 2004, allocated ₹2,680 crore and undertook land acquisition and major canal works before 2009,” she posted on X.

Nearly 90% of the canal works had been completed during YSR’s tenure, even before the main dam works progressed significantly, she added. Ms. Sharmila said the right and left main canals were developed as part of YSR’s efforts to realise the potential of Polavaram as a major source of irrigation for Andhra Pradesh.

The water now being supplied through the LMC from Purushottapatnam and Pushkara lift irrigation schemes was the result of the work undertaken by the government led by YSR, she claimed. The present government had undertaken only minor works, but the entire canal network was being projected as the result of Mr.

Naidu’s efforts, she said.