Action plan ready for 1,894 works: Zilla Panchayat chief

Local body to take up water works in the parched district on priority

Zilla Panchayat  President Rathnamma on Thursday said an action plan has been prepared for 1,894 works, including digging of borewells for the year 2015-16, as water problem has become severe in the rural areas of the district.

Expressing gratitude to Zilla Panchayat members and officials upon completing one year as the local body’s president, Rathnamma said, “As many as 279 villages are facing water problem. Among these, water is being supplied to 217 villages through tankers.The rest 62 villages are getting water from borewell. An action plan has been prepared to dig more borewells this year and sent to the government for approval.”

She said 956 borewells have been dug in the district last year. This year, 53 borewells have been dug from January till the end of July.

Among these, electricity has to supplied to 867 borewells. A request has been made to the government to supply electricity to the new borewells through Bescom. The government has directed to pay Rs 12.6 crore to Bescom as deposit, she added.

Rathnamma said an appeal has been made to chief minister to announce a separate compensation package for crop loss due to excess rain.

An amount of Rs 1.50 crore has been reserved to construct Rajiv Gandhi Samarthya Soudha to solve the electricity problem.

Similarly, a proposal has been sent to the government seeking grants to construct Zilla Panchayat complex on a five acre plot, she said.

She said six general and four progress review meetings have been conducted in the last one year. district in-charge minister, MPs, MLAs, MLCs and members extended cooperation along with the officials. Meetings are not being conducted on time due to lack of space. This problem will be solved after the renovation of the auditorium, she added.

Rathnamma distributed sweets and clothes to the Zilla Panchayat’s maintenance staff and drivers. Some members felicitated her.

Members Narayana Reddy, Anand, Mutyalamma, Narayanamma, Yashodamma and others were present in the meeting.