Peddireddy hints at crucial decision on sand policy today

Amaravati: Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy will review the merits and demerits in implementation of the sand policy and going to suggest some crucial changes for better execution on Tuesday.

In an interaction with a group of journalists on Monday, minister for mining and panchayat raj Peddireddy Ramachandra Reddy explained that to bridge the gap between supply and demand of sand in the state, the Chief Minister will take an important decision in the review meeting.

At the same time, the government is planning to explore the sand by dredging the silt at Prakasam and Dowleswaram barrages, he revealed. The government estimated that the sand at these two barrages would be sufficient to meet the demand of the state for next three-and-a-half years.

He said that the government has been planning to drill at least 2 lakh borewells, benefitting at least 3 lakh farmers to provide water to more than 5 lakh additional acre in the next four years, under the YSR Jala Kala by spending Rs 2,340 crore for digging borewells and Rs 1,600 crore for motors and pump sets.

The minister also revealed that the promotions to the MPDOs as divisional development officers (DDOs) will be completed shortly. The government created 53 DDO positions for the first time. A new notification will be issued for recruitment of the MPDOs vacancies by next month. In addition to that, the government has been planning to add another 20 village secretariats in various districts.

Ramachandra Reddy said that to empower women in the state, the government has been facilitating infrastructure for milk procurement at village secretariats. The milk collection points at the secretariats would be designated as Village Secretariat Milk Collection Centres and for a cluster of villages there will be a bulk milk cooling centre, he said.

The corporate companies are already engaged to collect, store, process, add value to the produce and market the milk collected through these milk collection centres, he added.