The Andhra Pradesh government is expediting major irrigation projects and reviving stalled lift irrigation (LI) schemes, Water Resources Minister Nimmala Ramanaidu has said.

“The Polavaram irrigation project is targeted to be completion by March 2027. A sum of ₹600 crore will be released for the Veligonda project-displaced families, and a 10-year repair and operation-and-maintenance plan is being worked out for the State Irrigation Development Corporation (IDC) lift schemes,” Mr. Ramanaidu said while addressing the media here on Friday.

The Minister further said that 90% of the Polavaram project’s civil works had been completed. “While 94% of land acquisition has been complete, 52% of relocation of the project-affected families under the R&R programme has been finished. The overall progress of the project stands at 77%,” the Minister said, adding that the remaining works were being executed as per schedule, with the R&R, land acquisition and colony-related works targeted for completion by December this year.

Though it was originally scheduled to complete the Polavaram project by December 2027, Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu had directed the officials to complete the works by March 2027, Mr. Ramanaidu said.

“Works continued even during the recent Godavari floods, when the river recorded a flow of around 14 lakh cusecs,” the Minister said. While the ECRF Gap-1 works are 48% complete, the Gap-2 works are 36% finished,” he said.

The government was also accelerating works on the Polavaram Left Main Canal, on which no funds were spent during 2019–24, he said. “Around ₹1,500 to ₹1,800 crore has been spent after the NDA government assumed office, including on critical works at 11 National Highway crossings and canal crossings involving the Pampa, Tandava, Yeleru and Varaha rivers,” the Minister said.

The government was targeting to complete the works and release water through the canal by the end of August, enabling the Godavari waters to reach up to Anakapalli, the Minister said.

On the Veligonda project, Mr. Ramanaidu said critical works, including head regulators, tunnel lining and feeder canal works, were being expedited. Of the nearly 1,900 tonnes of iron obstructing the TBM in Tunnel-2, around 1,500 tonnes had been removed, with efforts under way to remove the remaining material. He said ₹318 crore had already been released towards the R&R package and the remaining ₹600 crore would be disbursed between August 17 and 24.

On the IDC lift schemes, the Minister said Andhra Pradesh had 1,040 such schemes, of which only 150 were fully operational. The schemes served nearly eight lakh acres, but their deterioration had affected irrigation in a substantial part of the ayacut. “The government has decided to undertake repairs and ensure their operation and maintenance for 10 years,” he said.

The Chief Minister had also directed the department to prepare monthly work programmes and submit progress reports for the 36 priority irrigation projects, Mr. Ramanaidu said. An irrigation calendar would be prepared to monitor the projects against clearly defined monthly targets.

He said that the Polavaram project was also being developed as a potential tourism hub, with plans for a radial survey covering about 10,000 acres, beautification of the spillway, an iconic connectivity bridge and river-based tourism between Polavaram and Bhadrachalam.

Published - August 14, 2026 07:19 pm IST