Lack of co-ordination stymies projects

Hyderabad: Lack of interdepartmental coordination has led to delay in many developmental programmes taken up by the Telangana government in the State.

Land acquisition for irrigation projects, housing scheme, road development and community development programmes in urban and rural areas, tribal development schemes in the reserve forest areas and self employment schemes have been going on at a snail’s pace for the last one year.

The irrigation project works were stalled at many project sites due to protracted delay in land acquisition. The official authority for land acquisition - Revenue Department - is consuming more time to acquire land, resulting in many major irrigation projects failing to take off as per schedule. In some cases, the works have come to a grinding halt.

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Highlights:

• Key programmes hit a roadblock due to various problems
• Irrigation projects are worst hit
• Land row stumbling block for 2BHK scheme

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The ongoing Sripada-Yellampally reservoir works have come to a halt as the land acquisition is moving at a snail’s pace. Similarly, Indiramma Sagar, Kalwakurthi, Neettempadu, Bheema and Koilsagar are facing land crunch. While other major project works at Palamuru–Ranga Reddy Lift Irrigation Scheme, Dindi, Kaleshwaram, Tummidihatti and Medigadda works are getting delayed due to land problem.

The land issue is also said to be a stumbling block for Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao’s ambitious two-bedroom housing scheme as Revenue Department has been struggling hard to create land bank in every village.

The Revenue officials are taking more time in creating land bank and this is resulting in delay in taking up the housing scheme, officials of Housing Department said.

State Housing Department has identified nearly 200 villages to construct houses in five districts but no progress has been made during the last six months.

Similarly, community development schemes like construction of community houses and development of local road network taken up by the Panchayat Raj Department are pending as the Rural Development Department is yet to release the required fund to the implementing agency.

Non-cooperation between Municipal Administration and Roads and Building Department left many road development and asset development projects in municipalities in quandary.

As per the guidelines, the Municipal Administration should provide funds to develop roads and provide basic infrastructure to R&B guest houses.

The government has planned to develop guest houses in nearly 50 municipalities but not a single project has been completed.

Tribal welfare schemes like honeybee cultivation, multi-crop farming and horticulture in the forest lands given to the tribal community are not being implemented as there is no coordination between the Tribal Welfare and Forest and Agriculture departments. Nearly Rs 100 crore has been earmarked to create livelihoods to tribals under ST Sub Plan, according to official sources.

The government has virtually given up the skill development programmes, particularly the computer education for educated unemployed youth as the IT Department expressed its inability to provide technical support to the SC, ST, BC and Minority Welfare departments which have taken up the scheme in a big way.

The welfare departments which introduced other self employment schemes in the area of construction and automobile sectors are also allegedly not reaching the deserved as the Labour and Employment Department is not providing support in the execution of the schemes.

The Labour and Employment Department has to identify the youth seeking jobs and furnish the details to the welfare departments. Practically, the Labour Department gave up its duties, officials add.