Uttam Tells Irrigation Dept to Halt All Tenders

Hyderabad: Irrigation minister N. Uttam Kumar Reddy on Thursday asked officials to immediately stop all tenders called for the construction of various projects before the Assembly elections, apart from those that got work allotment.

Taking part in a review of projects in erstwhile Khammam and Nalgonda districts at the Secretariat, Uttam Kumar Reddy said the people were facing unnecessary financial burden for taking up construction of new projects with thousands of crores of rupees, while neglecting those that could be completed for only Rs.200-Rs.300 crore.

He asked officials to divide the projects into four categories, based on their timeline for completion — six months, one year, 18 months and two years — and submit a report with budget estimates. He instructed officials to release funds for the representations received from elected representatives for repairing check dams and expressed displeasure over the ineffective redesign of the Sri Sitarama Lift Scheme.

Information and public relations minister Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy expressed anger at officials for failing to provide detailed information on the Sitarama project. Instructions were also issued to ensure there is no drinking water problem in the summer, apart from enquiring about water levels in the Nagarjunasagar Project (NSP).

Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka, who is also holding the finance department portfolio, sought to know details of Indira Rajiv Sagar projects that were taken up at a cost of Rs.2,400 crore, but later increased by Rs.13,000 crore. He slammed officials for failing to furnish facts about the project.

The elected representatives from the Khammam and Nalgonda districts underscored the need to expedite the process of completing the ongoing irrigation projects in the two districts on priority.

For making Nalgonda district more fertile agriculturally, Dindi, Udayasamudram, SLCB tunnel and Nakkalagandi, along with Pillayapalli and Dharmareddy canals, should be completed soon, they said.

Telangana Legislative Council Chairman Gutha Sukender Reddy, who was also present at the meeting, advised the finance minister to allocate a sufficient budget for completing these projects. He also wanted the ministers to inspect ongoing projects to take stock of the progress and ensure early completion. Once these projects are completed, there would not be any drinking water problem in the district, he said.

Agriculture minister Tummala Nageswara Rao, roads and buildings minister Komatireddy Venkat Reddy and other MLAs were also in attendance.