Vijayasai Reddy raises question on Polavaram project in Parliament 

New Delhi: In a reply to YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) MP Vijayasai Reddy's question on Polavaram project, Union Minister of State for Water Resources Arjun Ram Meghwal said of the 56,495 Scheduled Tribes (ST) families affected by the project, only 1,317 ST families have been shifted to the rehabilitation colonies. Vijayasai Reddy asked if the report submitted to the President over the delay in providing rehabilitation to the STs affected in Polavaram project was true.

In reply to another question raised by the YSRCP MP, the minister said that Andhra Pradesh government had submitted to the Centre that the Polavaram victims were provided with cultivable land as per the Land Allocation Act, 2013. The National ST Commission informed the Andhra Pradesh government on the need to compensate for the breach of the victims' Constitutional rights and to improve their socio-economic status, said the minister.

In a written reply to another question raised by Vijayasai Reddy, Union Minister of State for Environment Mahesh Sharma said that the Centre formed a Committee to look into the revision of rules for Coastal Regulatory Zone (CRZ). The Committee would look into the challenges faced in the coastal areas of AP and hurdles in promoting tourism in the region. The AP coastal area has been included in the draft for Coastal Regulatory Zone in 2018.