Reject PFR of Banakacharla project: Irrigation Minister Uttam to Centre
HYDERABAD: Strongly objecting to the Andhra Pradesh government's proposed Banakacharla project, Irrigation Minister N Uttam Kumar Reddy has urged the Central government to reject the Pre-Feasibility Report (PFR) of the project that is presently under review by Central Water Commission (CWC).
In a letter on Saturday, he asked Union Jal Shakti Minister CR Patil to initiate necessary action to prevent AP from submitting the DPR of the project to CWC.
Uttam Kumar Reddy stated that during a meeting held on June 2, chaired by Sajjan Yadav, additional secretary in the Ministry of Finance, state government officials sought an update on the approval status of the PFR by the CWC. In response, the senior joint commissioner in the Ministry of Jal Shakti informed them that the report was under active consideration of the CWC. Sajjan Yadav also instructed the AP government to submit the DPR by the end of the month
'Usually, only after the CWC approves the PFR, the DPR of a project is submitted by any state government. Does the Central government asking AP to submit the DPR mean that the PFR of Banakacharla is deemed to have been approved by the Commission? We strongly object to the Union government's attitude,' said the irrigation minister.
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