Officials told to expedite irrigation projects in Rayalaseema

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Wednesday directed officials to expedite the pending works of irrigation projects in the drought-prone Rayalaseema region.
Naidu, who held a video conference with the Collectors of Anantapur, Chittoor, Kurnool and Kadapa districts, took stock of the progress of ongoing works at irrigation projects in the region. Senior officials of Irrigation Department were also present on the occasion, a Government release said here.

He enquired about rainfall deficit and status of water level at the reservoirs in these districts.

Naidu, who visited the Jeedipalli reservoir on July 3, directed the District Collectors and irrigation officials to complete the de-silting works in a week’s time.

“Mobilise contractors to deploy machinery and complete the work within seven days. Take stringent action on faulty contractors.”

All the unfinished works in Handri-Neeva Sujala Sravanti (HNSS) irrigation project Phase-II must be completed by December 2015, the Chief Minister said.

“The Chief Minister suggested updating database online and getting real time updates on the progress of various projects. It can be integrated with the CM dashboard (a channel of communication in the government,” the release quoted Naidu as saying.

District Collectors, engineers-in-chief and other officials have been given extraordinary powers to speed up the progress of works in the pending projects, he said.