Andhra Pradesh to provide filtered water in rural areas

Hyderabad: The Andhra Pradesh government is going to launch 'NTR Sujala Sravanthi' scheme, which will provide filtered water in the rural areas, on October 2 across 5,000 gram panchayats in the first phase.

Under the scheme, filtered water would be supplied to every household in the rural areas at the rate of Rs 2 per 20 litres, state Panchayat Raj minister Ch Ayyanna Patrudu said.

"The scheme will be launched from Hindupur mandal of Anantapur district," he said.

The government had sought the support of corporate sector for implementation of the scheme as a part of corporate social responsibility (CSR) for setting up reverse osmosis (RO) plants, he said. Government would provide power at subsidised rate to such plants.

Some companies in Visakhapatnam and East Godavari districts had already come forward for this, he added.

"Around 500 habitations are getting water at subsidised rates from the private agencies currently," the minister said.

Irrigation minister Devineni Uma Maheswara Rao said the government was going to establish 'water grids' to ensure year-long supply of water for drinking as well as industrial purposes on the lines of Gujarat in rural and urban areas of 13 districts of Andhra Pradesh.

"We can have five to six water grids near reservoirs. A high-level experts committee has been constituted for implementation of the scheme, and it is likely to cost around Rs 30,000 crore," he said, adding that the state may seek funding from international agencies.