Tourism minister Vatti Vasanth Kumar said that the state government proposes to set up a "Godavari River Authority" to monitor tourist boats carrying tourists on the Godavari river upto Papikondalu.
In his reply to a question raised by raised by MLA R Surya Prakasa Rao during Question Hour in the Assembly on Saturday, the minister said that the YAT & C (T) department has processed the file to the Irrigation & CAD department for the constitution of a Regulatory Authority on the Godavari to regulate the movement of boats and vessels in the river.
The Irrigation & CAD department had issued orders in November 2012, constituting the Regulatory Authority throughout the state, including Godavari, with the East Godavari District Collector as chairman and representatives of Revenue, Irrigation, Forest, Police and Tourism Departments, representatives of boat owners and travel agents, and people's representatives of East Godavari and West Godavari districts as members. The Executive Engineer Dowlaiswaram, EG district, is the convenor, he added.
He added that subsequently, it was felt necessary to constitute a Godavari Regulatory Authority separately and other Regulatory Authorities for the remaining parts of the state. "Accordingly, the Irrigation department issued an amendment to the above orders, constituting a Godavari Regulatory Authority on Godavari river exclusively, in February 2013," he said. (INN)