In its efforts to make Rayalseema drought-free, the Andhra Pradesh government is keen to expedite work on the pending irrigation projects.
Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu today held a video conference with the district Collectors of the Anantapur, Chittoor, Kurnool and Kadapa districts along with officials from the Irrigation department on the progress of the ongoing works on the various irrigation projects in the Rayalaseema region.
He also enquired about the rainfall deficit and the water level at the reservoirs in the districts.
Rs 1,028 crores have been spent on land acquisition for the projects, and the Chief Minister directed the district Collectors to complete the input subsidy distribution to the land owners without further delay.
The Chief Minister directed district Collectors and irrigation officials to complete the de-silting works in the Jeedipalli Reservoir in a week's time. "Mobilize contractors to deploy machinery and complete the work within seven days. Take stringent action on faulty contractors," he said.
All the unfinished works in Handri-Neeva Sujala Sravanti (HNSS) Phase II needed to be completed by December 2015, he stated, directing the district Collectors to reach a consensus with the farmers in the region.
Since the Galeru Nagari Sujala Sravanti (GNSS) project was designed to store inflows from Nippula Vagu, Telugu Ganga and Srisailam Right Bank Canal, the Chief Minister ordered that unfinished works be completed quickly. This project is intended to ensure that there was no shortage of water for drinking and irrigation purposes.
The Chief Minister also asked for real time online updates on the progress of the various projects. A module for this could be integrated with the CM's dashboard, he said.
Collectors and Chief Engineers were being given extraordinary powers to expedite the works in the pending projects, he said.
"Even one TMC of stored water will be transferred to Rayalaseema. Our aim is to make the region drought-proof and recharge the groundwater levels," he said.
Ministers Devineni Umamaheswara Rao and Bojjala Gopala Krishna Reddy, Irrigation Secretary Aditya nath Das, Secretary to CM Sai Prasad and other officials were present.