Water grid watered down by the new government?

Kalyandurg (Anantapur): Intellectuals stated that it is bad that State governments, particularly previous YSRCP government and the present TDP government, are viewing development projects entirely on political lines. With this, even good projects that immensely benefit people are being abandoned to party politics.

Projects initiated by the previous government are being side lined by the new government, simply because it’s the brainchild of a rival political party. So, several projects are being shelved after spending crores of rupees of public money from the exchequer.

Scholars noted that the erstwhile YSRCP government utterly neglected Bhairavani Tippa project, initiated by the then TDP government (2014-19) at a cost of Rs 200 crore. The project would have benefitted two constituencies of Rayadurg and Kalyandurg, had the previous YSRCP government spent a few crores of rupees to complete it. But tragically political hostilities took precedence over people's welfare.

The previous YSRCP government had initiated water grid project at a cost of Rs 157 crore to solve people's water woes permanently and initiated 74 works pertaining to the water project. It completed 18 works and the remaining are yet to be completed. After coming to power, the TDP government allegedly ignored this water grid project, as it has its own priorities. This project, people said that should not become a victim of the narrow-minded political leaders.

"If a project is good for the people, then it should be taken up, no matter which party government initiated it", stated Amarnath Reddy, resident of Kalyandurg. It is high time political parties stop politicising development projects, he added.

Ironically, the officials concerned also toeing the line of political parties, instead of suggesting the government to complete projects in the interest of people. The works executed on a mission mode during the erstwhile government came to a grinding halt and nobody in the new government is talking about its completion.

The present alliance government is already allegedly manifesting its disinterest to take the project forward. Surendra Raju, local unemployed educated youth, opined that people should give a 10-year tenure to a political party to complete projects of paramount importance. Otherwise, people's resources are subjected to colossal waste by the political party that succeeds to power.