Union Budget to Help Vizag’s Major Water Projects: GVMC

Visakhapatnam: Union Budget special focus on augmenting drinking water supply in urban areas will help Visakhapatnam complete its major drinking water projects, said GVMC superintendent engineer (Water Supply) K. Ravi.

He pointed out that a proposal is pending with the government for laying a pipeline from Yeleru Reservoir to Madhuravada through Gopalapatnam at a cost of ₹3,500 crore. This will supply 186 million gallons of water per day Vizag, catering to the needs of the city’s population till 2050.

Similarly, another project to pump water from Mudasarlova to Madhurawada zone costing ₹550 crore is also pending with the government, Ravi said.

“Hope these two projects will be implemented following the announcement in the union budget,’’ Ravi told this correspondent.

On incentives for waste management, GVMC chief medical officer Dr. Naresh Kumar said special allocation in the union budget will help build new garbage transfer stations in Anakapalli and Bheemili, provide funds for the ongoing new network of underground drainage system and extend incentives for alternatives to plastic.

GVMC collects 1,200 tonnes of dry and wet garbage per day, which includes 40 tonnes of plastic waste.

Housing, the major component of urban projects envisaged in the union budget, will set the ball rolling for affordable dwellings for the urban middle class.

CREDAI city president B. Srinivas said proposed sanction of ₹2.4 lakh crore for the PM Awas Yojana will boost the real estate sector in tier two cities like Visakhapatnam. He underlined that revision in the income tax slab will increase the buyers’ capacity in the real estate market.