AMARAVATI: YSR Congress Party MLA Thopudurthi Prakash Reddy slammed TDP leaders for politicising the Upper Penna project naming after former Chief Minister Dr YS Rajashekar Reddy, who originally initiated the project.

Addressing a press conference here on Friday, he said that opposition TDP leaders are intentionally drawing controversies over the Upper Penna project and making false propaganda through their favoured media houses. He said that Dr YS Rajashekar Reddy had started Handri Neeva project in 2005, which is after the death of Paritala Ravindra. In 2007, people of Anantapur requested to provide water from Jeedipalli reservoir to Perur dam. In the following year 2008, YS Rajashekar Reddy had brought a feasibility report for the project and announced it to be constructed during the 2009 election campaign. He stated that there is no contribution of Paritala Ravi in bringing the project and questioned TDP leaders on what basis the government should name the project after him?

He said that Chandrababu Naidu has also announced the same project during the 2014 election campaign, but issued the GO in January 2018, barely completing minor works of 5-10 percent in five years. The estimates of this project were proposed at an escalated cost of Rs 1140 Crore leaving more space for corruption. Although the tenders were finalised at Rs 803 crore and the project was awarded to Megha Constructions, even in that amount also TDP leaders were involved in corruption.

The previous TDP government had proposed to bring Puttakanuma reservoir, at a capacity of 0.6 TMC despite having no need with this and being an unfeasible one. However, Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy reengineered the project where three reservoirs Muttala, Thopudurthi, and Devarakonda are to be constructed at the same cost of Rs 803 crores enhancing to the capacity of 3.9 TMC, which would irrigate 56000 acres. The Chief Minister is bringing the project aiming to irrigate one lakh acres in Rapthadu.

MLA Prakash Reddy said that the TDP leaders have used projects to loot money and instead of providing water, they pocketed money through corruption. Unlike the previous government, Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy had promised to bring three reservoirs in Rapthadu during his padayatra and stood by his word and thus initiated the project.