Buoyed by MK success,Harish set for 3rd phase

Buoyed by MK success,Harish set for 3rd phase
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Highlights

Irrigation Minister T Harish Rao, who seems to be over the moon for successfully completing two phases of Mission Kakatiya, the State government’s prestigious lakes restoration programme, on Friday called upon MLAs to make the third phase of works beginning this month huge success.

Hyderabad: Irrigation Minister T Harish Rao, who seems to be over the moon for successfully completing two phases of Mission Kakatiya, the State government’s prestigious lakes restoration programme, on Friday called upon MLAs to make the third phase of works beginning this month huge success.

The Irrigation Minister writes to MLAs urging them to take part in MK III phase works and to make the programme a huge success

The Minister shot a letter to the legislators and instructed them to involve people in the third phase of works to make it a big success. Explaining about the funds allotted, money spent and lakes restored, the Minister said 10 per cent of groundwater table had been increased and water storage capacity also rose by 6.5 per cent which was a record in the State.

‘Mana Vooru Mana Cheruvu’ programme was launched in 2015 with an aim to irrigate 25 lakh acres by making use of waters in the Krishna and the Godavari basins for restoring 46,000 lakes, he said.The Minister said the lakes restoration programme proved handy for farming activity as fertilizers use had come down as de-silted soil was shifted to the crops helping them get better yield. Of the 17,000 lakes, 11,400 lakes had been restored so far during the two phases, he said, and directed the officials to restore the rest of 6,600 lakes by May 31.

Out of Rs 5,660 crore administrative sanction, they paid Rs 2,000 crore bills so far. The lakes scheme was being replicated by other States, while Water Man of India and Magsaysay awardee Rajendra Singh had appreciated the flagship programme, he added.

Harish Rao also recalled that NITI Ayog vice-chairman Arvind Panagaria and several Union Ministers appreciated the programme and said a Central team studied the programme recently while another official team from Tamil Nadu would be embarking on an official visit to Mission Kakatiya works in the State on April 10. To curb corruption and to maintain transparency, all related works were made available online besides the payment of bills, the Irrigation Minister claimed.

For the third phase of works, 6,635 lakes had been selected and the government was planning to approve the estimates of 6,231 lakes, he said, adding that administrative sanction had been given to 4,000 lakes. Harish Rao also suggested that the MLAs should actively participate in the third phase of lakes restoration works by involving people.

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