Vijayawada: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will chair a meeting with chief ministers of four states on May 28 to discuss the Polavaram project. This will be the first meeting of the PM with CMs of the stakeholder states on Polavaram, a national project which is considered as the ‘lifeline’ of Andhra Pradesh. However, the neighbouring states of Telangana, Odisha, and Chhattisgarh have raised objections over the submergence of lands and habitations.Despite several rounds of deliberations at the top official level, no solution was found. Petitions filed by Odisha, Chhattisgarh, and Telangana are pending before the Supreme Court. Although AP proposed constructing a retaining wall along the villages likely to be submerged, Odisha and Chhattisgarh raised more objections regarding land acquisition and rehabilitation.As part of the promises made during the bifurcation of AP, the Union govt announced Polavaram as a national project. It has now become the responsibility of the Union govt to clear all hurdles by finding an amicable solution for all states. With the project works progressing at a brisk pace after the NDA govt came to power in AP, finding a solution to inter-state disputes has become imperative for the Union govt to complete the project within the timelines.For the first time, PM Modi has directly stepped in to discuss the issue with the chief ministers of all four states.According to sources, the chief secretaries were informed about the meeting with the PM on May 28 through a video conference. Along with the chief ministers, irrigation ministers and senior officials from the four states, officials of Union Jal Shakti ministry, Central Water Commission, and Polavaram Project Authority will participate in the meeting. As the PM is holding the meeting directly, irrigation dept officials expect that he will clear the impasse over the project, which would further speed up the ongoing execution works.
