Telugu Desam president N Chandrababu Naidu on Monday urged Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh to confer national project status to Polavaram and Pranahita-Chevella projects.
In a letter written to Prime Minister, Naidu said it would be difficult for the state government to complete the projects as they need huge funds.
He said the Polavaram project, which has been pending for long time, would help irrigate 7 lakh acres. The Pranahita-Chevella project was meant to irrigate 16.4 lakh acres in seven drought-prone districts besides providing drinking water to Hyderabad, he said.
The state government had spent Rs 51,000 crore in the last five years under Jalayagnam, Rs two lakh crore was needed to complete the projects, he stated.