12K villages getting safe drinking water under Mission Bhagiratha

State government’s flagship programme Mission Bhagiratha, a scheme to supply piped drinking water to all households in the state, will be completed on time, chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao has said. Rao, who conducted a detailed review of the scheme at Pragathi Bhavan here on Saturday, said that the scheme would be completed within the stipulated time and warned that contracting agencies which failed to complete the works within the stipulated time would be removed.

The laying of internal pipelines should be completed simultaneously along with the supply of water to villages, Rao directed the officials. Expressing displeasure at the delay in completing the work on overhead service resources (OHSR ), Rao said that taking it as an excuse the work on internal pipelines should not be stopped. 

Rao suggested that all the material including pipelines and taps be moved and kept ready at the work sites. The Kaleshwaram lift irrigation scheme (KLIS) works are going on round the clock. Likewise, the Mission Bhagiratha works should be executed in three shifts, he said. Rao, who reviewed the works district-wise and Assembly constituency-wise, recalled that he vowed on the floor of the Assembly that before the next elections all the 25,000 villages in the state would be provided with safe drinking water. As of now 12,000 villages were getting water supply and the remaining should get it at the earliest, he said. 

MDDL: The chief minister instructed that the minimum drawing down level (MDDL) should be maintained at all reservoirs of irrigation projects. Only after ensuring sufficient water for drinking purpose should water for irrigation be released. Orders would be issued soon to this effect, he said. The chief minister assured the work contract agencies that the GST over and above that was mentioned in the agreement would be borne by the government.