Wait for reimbursement of Polavaram funds to go on

New Delhi: Centre continues to delay payment of Polavaram dues to Andhra Pradesh despite repeated reminders from the latter. Even in the Parliament here on Monday, it stated the process of reimbursement would take more time due to various reasons.

In reply to a question of the YSRCP MP Vijayasai Reddy in the Rajya Sabha on the reasons for the delay in the reimbursement of the money spent by the AP government, the minister of state for Jal Shakti, Bishweswar Tudu, said on Monday that the Centre had been reimbursing the expenditure on irrigation component of the Polavaram project from 2014 April upon receipt of verified bills and recommendations from the Polavaram Project Authority (PPA) and Central Water Commission (CWC) with the approval of ministry of finance through extra budget resources.

He stated that the Nabard which raised funds from the market once a requirement of requisite amounts was conveyed to them but sometimes the process got delayed due to delay in scrutiny of bills for seeking additional information from the state government.

The state government had directed PPA to reimburse Rs 1,734.8 crore in September 2021 and Rs 353,19 crore the next month. Against this, the PPA had recommended only Rs 711.604 crore.

To another question by the MP on water aerodrome, the minister of state for civil aviation, Gen V K Singh, said the Prakasam Barrage water aerodrome in Andhra Pradesh had been identified for operation of RCS flights through seaplanes on the route Hyderabad-Prakasam Barrage-Hyderabad'.