Andhra Pradesh aims to become drought-proof state

HYDERABAD: Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu today instructed irrigation department officials to prepare an action plan to make the state drought-proof.

He asked the department to identify and expedite the process of completing pending projects. Currently, the state has 54 irrigation projects under construction.

Reviewing at his office the status of existing projects, the Chief Minister ordered officials to identify ayacut areas of various projects that will irrigate farm lands. For this, he also asked them to prepare budget estimates within a week.

Naidu also asked the officials to identify obstacles delaying these projects and ensure their completion.

The Chief Minister said a State Irrigation Advisory Committee would be set up to study water scarcity in mandals located near the basins of Krishna, Godavari, Penna, Vamsadara and Nagavalli rivers and develop a plan to provide water to these mandals.

Department officials informed Naidu that Andhra Pradesh currently receives 1,500 tmc of inflows, according to an official statement.

Naidu also asked the officials to draw a plan to utilise water from lakes and divert them to drought-hit areas. "This is to ensure that every village/ hamlet in the state is provided with drinking water and water for domestic purposes," he was quoted as saying.

Minister for Major Irrigation Devineni Umamaheshwar Rao and Irrigation Adviser P K Agarwal were among those present at the meeting.