Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy today said the government is making efforts to provide irrigation facility to 30 lakh acres of land over the next two years with a cost of Rs 16,000 crore. Reddy was speaking after launching the first phase of the ‘Ananta Venkata Reddy Handri Niva Sujala Sravanti’ (HNSS) irrigation project at Malyala village of the district. Expressing satisfaction over completion of the HNSS project during his tenure, he said that the state has spent Rs 5,460 crore on HNSS so far and additional funds to the tune of Rs 19,000 crore are required for the second phase of the project. He also said the state government is trying to seek national status for the proposed Polavaram and Pranahita-Chevella mega irrigation projects which would benefit large number of people in the state. State Transport Minister and PCC president Botsa Satyanarayana said the government has proved the critics wrong by successfully completing the HNSS project. State Revenue Minister N Raghuveera Reddy said the completion of HNSS has come as a dream coming true as the perennially drought-hit Rayalaseema region would now get water. Reddy, who hails from the backward Anantapur district of Rayalaseema, has begun a ‘padayatra’ to celebrate the inauguration of the HNSS. The minister’s foot march was inaugurated by the chief minister and the PCC president. It would cover a distance of 236 kms in 12 days. PTI
