Hyderabad: The festival of Sankranti has come early for the people of Hyderabad, said minister K.T. Rama Rao. Speaking at the inaugural of the scheme to provide 20,000 litres of drinking water free, that was promised before the GHMC elections, Rama Rao said that water scarcity was high in other states and metro cities. He inaugurated the scheme at SPR Hills in Borabanda.
In Hyderabad, the state government was supplying free drinking water to almost nine lakh families. He said the Water Board would divert water from the Godavari and Krishna rivers to provide drinking water to the city.
“We have undertaken the Keshavpuram project as well as the Ring Main project around the Outer Ring Road so that there will be no shortage of drinking water till the year 2050,” Rama Rao said.
The scheme will benefit about 97 per cent of the poor and middle-class families living in the city. In particular, the scheme will benefit lakhs of people living in slums.
As announced by the government, the free drinking water scheme will come into effect from the December bill issued in January. Those who consume over 20,000 litres of water will have to pay the bills to the extent of water they have used.
In order for consumers to get free drinking water facility, they have to set up meters for their connections. Those living in slums do not need to install any meters. A similar scheme is being implemented in Delhi.
