Pending projects to be ready in time

Tirupati: Minister for water resources Devineni Umamaheshwara Rao said that the state government was working towards completing all pending projects by the end of 2018.

Mr Umamaheswara Rao visited the Balaji Reservoir near Tirupati on Sunday to inspect the progress.

The minister warned officials that he would not hesitate to take action against them if they proposed extension in the schedule of the project. Officials told the minister that they were having trouble getting permission from the forest department.

Mr Umamaheswara Rao spoke to the officials of the forest department and asked district officials to coordinate with them to ensure that work progressed at the desired pace.

Speaking to the media, Mr Umamaheswara Rao said he would visit all the projects in the district to ensure that the work was completed as soon as possible so that 10 TMC feet of water wo-uld be available in and around Tirupati for drinking and irrigation purposes. He said, “We are working hard. The CM has given a time-limit for the projects. We want to complete all projects in an year,” he said.