HYDERABAD: The World Bank has cleared Rs. 3,600-crore assistance to Andhra Pradesh to modernise Nagarjunasagar canals and to launch a major project to construct several minor irrigation dams in a single go.

The sanctioning of the massive sum was conveyed to senior officials by the bank's team led by its Managing Director Graeme Wheeler during a presentation here on Monday on the thrust given to irrigation by the Government for agricultural purposes.

Of this, Rs. 2,600 crores will be for modernisation of Sagar canals and Rs. 1,000 crores for construction of minor irrigation dams. The funds are expected to flow in shortly, highly-placed sources told The Hindu. About Rs. 160 crores of Sagar funds will be spent to repair and rehabilitate the dam itself.

This is the largest amount ever sanctioned by the bank to the State's irrigation sector. During the presentation, Satish Chandra, Secretary, Irrigation, explained as to how Jalayagnam was taken up for construction of 32 major and 16 medium projects at a cost of Rs. 60,000 crores.

He said the expenditure made on Jalayagnam would reach Rs. 1,600 crores by March 2007. Plans were afoot to allot Rs. 13,000 crores in the budget for next fiscal.

Mobilisation advance

Meanwhile, the Government has recovered Rs. 716 crores as principal and interest (at 8 per cent) out of Rs. 1,983 crores of mobilisation advance given to contractors.

Major Irrigation Minister Ponnala Lakshmaiah said the advance had been reduced to 5 per cent of the project cost from 10 per cent earlier.

Of this, 1 per cent would be released immediately once the contract was awarded and 4 per cent only after completion of works, he added.

`Dhanayagnam': TDP

Meanwhile, the TDP has demanded a judicial inquiry into alleged misuse of mobilisation advance of Rs. 4,000 crores given to contractors. Addressing a press conference here on Monday, party general secretary Kadiam Srihari said his party's information was that most of the advance had gone into wrong hands and diverted for other purposes as reflected in the slow progress of work on projects. "Jalayagnam has been reduced to dhanayagnam benefiting contractors who are close to the ruling party. There is no transparency in calling tenders," he said.

The norm was 50 per cent of the advance should be used for machines and the remaining for mobilising labour and material but in most of the projects this was not followed.

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