If Centre fails, AP will compensate Polavaram displaced: Jagan

AMARAVATI: Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jaganmohan Reddy on Wednesday made sensational remarks that he was fighting with the Centre for the necessary funds to rehabilitate the people who will be displaced by the Polavaram project.

He said that the state government would have taken it upon itself had the R&R package amount been around Rs 2,000-Rs 3,000 crores. But, the amount is to the tune of a whopping Rs 20,000 crores, he said.

YS Jagan on his second-day tour of the areas that were inundated due to the recent heavy floods in the Godavari. He visited Koyuguru village of Chinthuru mandal of Alluri Sitaramaraju district on Wednesday and spoke to the flood victims.

The chief minister promised that the state government would ensure that the displaced families got their compensation by September. "In case the compensation was not received from the Centre, the state government would take it upon itself to distribute the amount by September. We will allow water into the Polavaram reservoir only after clearing the compensation to the displaced families," he asserted.

He stated that orders had been issued to form a revenue division for the six merged mandals and assured that the construction of houses would be accelerated.

YS Jagan congratulated the district collector and the officials concerned in the flooded mandals for staying in the villages and supporting the victims in every way for the last 20 days.

The chief minister said that in the past, during floods, leaders used to abuse the officials and suspend them. He said that the families whose crops and property have been damaged due to floods would be provided compensation within two months.