By: P. Ram Mohan
Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao warned civil contractors that they would be sent to jail if they did not ensure good quality works and made it clear that his government will not tolerate negligence in completion of works.
He also asked the Collectors to prepare a list of contractors who did tank restoration works leaving quality to the wind earlier and black-list them. “Those contractors must be kept at bay and not allowed to file tenders for Mission Kakatiya”, he said while addressing a public meeting here on Thursday after launching the government’s ambitious programme to revive irrigation tanks in the new State.
Mr. Rao while speaking about the conditions of the irrigation tanks pointed out that Kakatiya kings had built over 70,000 tanks across Telangana some 1,000 years ago. They, however, got destroyed with the negligence of Andhra rulers after the formation of unified Andhra Pradesh, he said. He said the irrigation tank was heart to the village and people were well aware of the conditions in the village when the tank was replete with water and when it dried up. Therefore, they would avail themselves of this ambitious scheme and extend cooperation for its success, he added.
Appeal to MPs, MLAs
Appealing to the MLAs, MPs and other elected representatives not to ignore the basic realities and spend maximum time going round tanks and kuntas (small tanks) while supervising ongoing works. “After the Assembly session gets over, the MLAs should not stay put in Hyderabad. If need be, they should stay in tents erected on tank beds till completion of de-siltation, bund strengthening, sluice and weir repair works. Next three months are very crucial for Mission Kakatiya”, said the Chief Minister. Mr. Rao asked the elected representatives to work hard to keep Telangana ahead of all other States. He suggested planting of palm trees to strengthen the bund. Farmers should come forward to shift the desilted soil in the tank to their fields as it would help in high yields and reduce expenses on fertilizers.
Source: The Hindu