President Pranab Mukherjee has given his assent to a bill that facilitates handing over of over 530 villages spread across seven mandals in Telangana to the residual state of Andhra Pradesh for setting up of the multi-purpose Polavaram irrigation project.The President has given his consent to Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation (Amendment) Bill yesterday making it an Act, official sources said.The Bill was passed by Parliament last week.The project involves relocation of about 50,000 families especially in Khammam in Telangana, besides 2,000 families in Odisha and Chhattisgarh.Polavaram project has been accorded national project status by the Centre. The dam across the Godavari river is under construction and located in West Godavari district and East Godavari district in Andhra Pradesh, with its reservoir spreading ...

The bill to allow merging of 7 mandals of Telangana with Seemandhra under the guise of Polavaram power project was introduced in the Lok Sabha today amid din. It the first bill to be tabled in the House by the BJP-led government. Even as the TRS MPs protested vociferously against the bill which seeks to replace an ordinance promulgated in May by the Narendra Modi government, the BJP went ahead with the introduction of the bill. Yesterday, the bill was referred to the President for recommendation to be placed in the house. The President did the formal approval to withdraw the Ordinance and replace it with the bill. Today evening, the TRS MPs met and protested with the President that introducing the bill without following ...