‘Give priority to housing colonies construction’

Eluru: West Godavari District Collector K Bhaskar has said that highest priority would be given to the construction of housing colonies with a cost of Rs.1,000crores to the 14,647 displaced families of Polavaram Irrigation Project in the district. At the Collectorate here on Saturday, the Collector addressed a review meeting on Polavaram Project R and R package, National highways, Land Acquisition and on other irrigation projects.

The Collector instructed the Housing officials to speed up the housing colony works on priority basis and reiterated that all bills relating to the R and R and the Land acquisition for the Polavaram project have to be paid regularly. There was no paucity of funds for the implementation of R and R and Land acquisition.

Construction of houses and housing colonies to the displaced persons was handed over to various departments including housing, R and B, Panchayat Raj, Tribal Welfare and funds were allotted to those departments. He directed the officials to construct Anganwadi centres, community halls, schools, water schemes, street lighting, shopping complexes and hospitals in the housing colonies along with the construction of houses.

The Collector directed the contracting agencies of Navayuga and Mega companies to take up fencing to the land handed over to them relating to the Chintalapudi Lift Irrigation Scheme (CLIS).

He pointed out that the officials have handed over 150 acres out of the required 400 acres to Mega Construction Company for construction of CLIS Main canal and steps were taken up to acquire additional land of 78 acres. The Mega Construction Company should start the works as they were given the land, he said.

The Collector warned that if the officials did not complete the Railway Fly Over-bridge at Vatluru near Eluru city by Pongal, the concerned officials would face the consequences.

He said that the district administration would identify the problems relating to National Highway construction in thedistrict and submit details to the Union Surface Transport and Water Resources Minister Nitin Gadkari who visits the district next week. Joint Collectors P Koteswsara Rao, MH Sheriff, Land Acquisition Special Collector Ch Bhanu Prasad, DRO Katta Hymavathi, Housing Project director E Srinivas, R and B SE Nirmala, Narsapur Sub Collector Sumit Kumar Gandhi and ITDA Project officer Harindra Kumar participated in the meeting.