ONGOLE: Energy Minister Gottipati Ravi Kumar on Friday said the TDP-led NDA coalition government is committed to filling the Nallamala Sagar (Velugonda Reservoir) with Krishna river water by August and releasing it for its intended purposes.
The Minister made the announcement after inspecting the Velugonda Reservoir project site along with Markapuram District Collector M Vijaya Sunita, Joint Collector P Srinivasulu, MLA K Narayana Reddy, Yerragondapalem TDP in-charge G Erixion Babu and project engineers ahead of Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu’s visit on Saturday.
Earlier in the day, Energy Minister Gottipati Ravi Kumar distributed CMRF cheques and Letters of Credit (LOCs) worth Rs 1 crore to 83 beneficiaries at Santhamaguluru camp office.
The Minister later reviewed drinking water supply arrangements with Addanki municipal officials and directed them to expedite the implementation of a new Rs 101-crore drinking water scheme funded by the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB).
Officials informed the Minister that the project includes laying about 85 km of pipeline and providing nearly 5,000 new household tap connections in Addanki town.
Reviewing housing projects, officials told the Minister that 4,039 of the 7,383 houses sanctioned under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY) 1.0 in Addanki had been completed, while 2,769 houses were at various stages of construction.
Under PMAY 2.0, officials said 177 houses had been sanctioned. Of these, work on 83 houses is under way, while construction of the remaining 94 houses has not yet begun.
Gottipati said the government would sanction 5,283 houses for rural beneficiaries in August. He said the Central government provides Rs 1.80 lakh to each PMAY beneficiary, while the government has decided to provide an additional Rs 50,000 to SC and BC beneficiaries and Rs 75,000 to ST beneficiaries.