The Andhra Pradesh government has tethered the fate of the Polavaram Irrigation Project to the July 2027 Godavari Pushkarams. Water Resources Minister Nimmala Ramanaidu confirms the state is racing to finish the main dam and a linked hydel power project to satisfy the deadline.
Recent field inspections show the new diaphragm wall at Gap-2 has reached 75% completion, covering roughly 950 meters of the planned structure.
The administration plans to divert Godavari flows to the parched regions of Rayalaseema and North Andhra, framing the massive earth-moving effort as a "historic achievement" for a drought-free state.
| Project Element | Financial/Physical Metric |
|---|---|
| New Diaphragm Wall Cost | Rs 990 crore |
| Reported Arrears | Rs 18,000 crore (unpaid by previous gov) |
| Construction Pace | 2 cutters and 2 gutters active |
| Tunnel Status | Complex lining in twin tunnels (Right Canal) ongoing |
The Mechanics of Blame and Concrete
The current political narrative rests on the failure of the previous diaphragm wall, a Rs 440 crore structure allegedly ruined by 2020 floods and administrative neglect.
Ramanaidu asserts the previous regime managed only 2% progress in five years, leaving behind a massive debt to the Irrigation Department including unpaid salaries for dam staff.
The project is now managed via daily monitoring by the Polavaram Project Authority, utilizing a "war-footing" approach to mend the structural gap left by the prior administration's supposed ignorance of engineering basics.
"The irrigation ministers at that time didn’t even know which project the diaphragm wall belonged to," Ramanaidu remarked during a site visit, highlighting the friction between the current coalition and the past leadership.
Structural Skepticism and the Ghost of Kaleshwaram
While the state calls Polavaram a "modern temple," dam safety experts and the Central Water Commission (CWC) have raised questions about the rush.
The Polavaram Banakacherla Link Project (PBLP) faces criticism for its high power consumption and similarities to the troubled Kaleshwaram project in Telangana.
Experts cite a lack of an integrated quality standards unit as a potential risk for a project of this scale.
The state government maintains that all procedures were followed and has bypassed public hearings, arguing the project’s necessity outweighs further procedural pauses.
Background: The Long Arc of the Dam
The Polavaram project remains a central piece of Andhra Pradesh's political identity, surviving decades of delays and changing administrations. Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu has recently linked the dam's success to broader regional development, including the newly created Markapuram district and the Veligonda Project, which requires over Rs 9,000 crore to finish. The feeder canal works, valued at Rs 456 crore, have also been re-initiated to ensure the water actually reaches the intended fields once the main dam is plugged.
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