Drinking water projects in Telangana lose pre-summer funds

Hyderabad: The state government has stopped funds to drinking water schemes stating that Mission Bhagiratha would be ready by the summer. 

Districts which are facing a drinking water crisis are seeking funds to make alternative arrangements to meet the summer demand but have been turned down.

Officials of  municipal administration and urban development, panchayat raj and rural development and rural water supply department told the government that Mission Bhagiratha would be ready to supply water only by August and it would be difficult the resolve water crisis in summer if funds are not sanctioned between February and June.

Normally, the government sactions up Rs 400 crore as part of the summer contingency plan to tide over water crisis. The money is used for flushing, deepening and hydro-fracturing borewells and hire tankers.

To lay Mission Bhagiratha pipelines, the roads and highways were dug up due to which the existing water pipeline network got damaged, causing a water shortage in several municipalities and villages.

Officials are arranging tankers to resolve the issue temporarily but could not meet the demand. Following this, officials sought funds to repair the pipelines before summer set in. All such proposals are lying with the government.

The laying of main pipeline network of Mission Bhagiratha from irrigation projects has been satisfactory but the intra-village and intra-town pipeline network has been moving at a snail's pace due to delay in approval for digging up roads and property acquisition issues with land owners opposing passing of pipelines from their agriculture fields or plots.