Reiterating that the State Government was committed to protect the interests of farmers, Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy on Friday said that the government would provide irrigation facility to 30 lakh acres by spending Rs 16,000 crore by 2014.
Talking to media persons after participating in the second leg of Indiramma Baata programme and launching various programmes in Srikakulam district, Kiran Kumar Reddy said that the government would take all necessary steps to make farming a profitable profession. He said that the government would accord top priority to the completion of irrigation projects. He pointed out under the Jalayagnum project the government has so far provided irrigation facility to 22 lakh acres in the state.
The Chief Minister also accused the opposition parties of politicizing the Polavaram irrigations bids ‘unnecessarily’. He said that the Polavaram project if completed on schedule it would solve the irrigation and drinking water needs of Telangana region apart from meeting the drinking water needs of Chhatisgarh and Odisha States.
Kiran Kumar Reddy said that he would hold consultations with Odisha Chief Minister over the dispute on Vamsadhara project.
Accusing Telugu Desam president N Chandrababu Naidu of neglecting the farmers problems during his tenure as the Chief Minister, he said that now Naidu was shedding `crocodile tears’ on the on their problems. However, he said that the farmers would never believe Naidu’s cheap political gimmicks.
Stating that the government giving top priority for sports hour in the schools, he said that the government has released Rs 1.25 crore for the construction of mini stadiums in each mandal.
Earlier, Kiran Kumar Reddy inaugurated the Akkulapeta Lift Irrigation Scheme at Mandali and interacted with farmers of Vonigedda Ayacut to get first hand information over the problems. He also participated in the farming operations at Peddapeta. (INN)