NEW DELHI: Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy met Union Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat on Wednesday and reportedly requested him to approve the Revised Cost Estimates (RCE) of the Polavaram project of Rs 55,656 Crore.

During the meeting, the Chief Minister asked the Central Water Minister to provide adequate assistance for the speedy completion of the Polavaram project. He also requested the amount spent for land acquisition and rehabilitation costs also be reimbursed. While explaining the details, the Chief Minister said that the number of families to be relocated increased significantly in the year 2017–18 when compared to 2005–06. The CM said that the number of houses, which were flooded, has also increased significantly over time. The number of displaced families had increased from 44,574 families to 1,06,006, which has resulted in a huge increase in the costs of the Rehabilitation & Resettlement expenditure for the state, he stated.

During the meeting, YS Jagan brought to the notice of MoJS that another Rs 1,779 crore that was incurred for the construction of Polavaram project was yet to be reimbursed by the Centre. The E-bills for the month of December 2018 were pending and any further delay in the construction of the project would lead to additional costs for the AP Government and further delay in delivering the project results, he said. ''Polavaram is a lifeline project for the State of Andhra Pradesh and we wish to complete it at the earliest,'' the Chief Minister stated during the meeting, which was part of his two- trip to the National Capital.

Earlier Andhra Pradesh Finance Minister Buggana Rajendranath and Irrigation Minister P Anil Kumar Yadav also had a meeting with Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat and submitted a memorandum with the RCE to the MoJS for its approval.

ALSO READ: AP Govt Submits Polavaram Revised Cost Estimates To Jal Shakthi Ministry