Polavaram cost likely to go up, says Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat

New Delhi (PTI): Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat on Friday said that the cost of Polavaram project is likely to escalate since government of Andhra Pradesh has cancelled the project's tender.

The Minister was responding to the debate on the Dam Safety Bill, 2019 in the Lok Sabha where the bill seeking to set up an institutional mechanism for surveillance, inspection, operation and maintenance of specified dams across the country was passed. The Centre has no intention of taking over the powers of state through the draft law. "Water is a state subject," said Gajendra Singh Shekhawat.

The provisions of the bill are proposed to be applied to all specified dams in the country which have height of more than 15 metres, or between 10 metres and 15 metres.

Shekhawat said that in 2016, states were consulted on the bill and most agreed that it is better than the 2010 draft. The Minister asserted that through the proposed law the Centre does not want to take control of the dams, water or power generated by it.