BJP leader urges Andhra CM to consider ''Four Water Concept'' as alternative to PBLP
In a letter to Naidu, Shashidhar Reddy, Former Vice Chairman of the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), said FWC is a viable, low-cost alternative to the Banakacharla project, which can be implemented in about two years.
The FWC is capable of providing water for three crops annually and can cater to 30 lakh acres at a total cost of just Rs 4,500 crores (at Rs 15,000 per acre at current rates).
This would be a fraction of even the minimum basic estimated cost of Rs 81,900 crore for the Banakacharla project proposed by the Andhra Pradesh government, he said.
Shashidhar Reddy recalled that Naidu, as Chief Minister of undivided Andhra Pradesh, had launched the 'Neeru-Meeru' (massive watershed managment) programme in 2000 in the wake of a devastating drought. The project yielded "excellent results".
"I see you as a visionary and a class apart. I am confident that you will seriously consider shelving the Polavaram-Banakacharla project and opt for implementing FWC at a fraction of its cost with triple benefit of providing water for three crops in a year," he said in the letter to Naidu.
In the Four Waters concept, the focus is on using rainwater, surface water, groundwater, and maintenance of soil moisture at a high level to improve water availability and agricultural productivity.
The concept promotes the use of simple, low-cost earthen structures like percolation tanks, farm ponds, and trenches instead of large cement structures.
The Polavaram (Godavari)-Banakacharla Link Project proposed by the Andhra Pradesh government faced opposition from Telangana. The Telangana government complained to the Union Jal Shakti Ministry that the project hurts the state's interests.
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