Andhra CM writes to Gadkari seeking reimbursement of Rs 3,722 cr for Polavaram project

Amravati (Andhra Pradesh) [India], Jan 21 (ANI): Facing financial crunch, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Monday urged the Centre to ensure an early reimbursement of Rs 3,722 crore for the ongoing Polavaram project.
The Chief Minister wrote a letter to Union Water Resources Minister Nitin Gadkari and asserted that the state is arranging finances for the project from its "meager resources" to ensure the work does not get hindered. He further said that this is adversely affecting other developmental projects of the state.
"The last reimbursement received from the Government of India was on June 11, 2018. Since then, there has been no reimbursement of expenditure already incurred by the state government so far," the letter read.
"I demand that immediate action may be taken to expedite approval of Revised Cost Estimate and arrange immediate release of funds for the reimbursement of balance expenditure of Rs 3,722.04 crore," he added.
In the letter, Naidu underlined that Rs 15,380.97 crore has been spent on the project. After the Polavaram irrigation project was declared as a national project, the Central government reimbursed Rs 6,727.26 crore and is yet to release the balance Rs 3,722 crore to the state.
In the letter, the Chief Minister also highlighted that his government bagged the Central Board of Irrigation and Power (CBIP) award for speedy execution of the Polavaram project, which is a lifeline of Andhra Pradesh. (ANI)