VIJAYAWADA: Now, people living in low-lying areas in Vijayawada need not fear waterlogging during rainy season, as the Central government has sanctioned Rs 461 crore for the construction of storm water drains in the city.
During a recent visit of mayor Koneru Sridhar to New Delhi, he impressed upon the Ministry of Urban Development with powerpoint presentation on the need of storm water drains in the city and the problems being faced by the public with waterlogging on the roads after rain. He also submitted detailed project reports (DPRs) with an estimated budget of Rs 424 crore to them, which was later revised to Rs 461 crore, according to the instructions given by the Union minister M Venkaiah Naidu.
Earlier, the municipal corporation has already started the construction of mini drains for every 34 km in the city with Rs 49.13 crore sanctioned under JNNURM scheme; however the project was hit due to funds crunch and stopped in the middle. Now the engineering department has designed plans for the construction of big drains for every 100m and mini drains for every 38 km by dividing the city into seven zones, with the funds released by the Centre.
“We have already prepared the DPR for the construction of giant and mini drains in the city and will start the work soon. Tenders have been called for Rs 10 crore worth works. The Central government also released Rs 17 crores under the Rajiv Awas Yojana, to make the city slum-free. We are hoping for the release of funds in a month,” said VMC Commissioner G Veerapandian.
Meanwhile, the state government has also released Rs 27 crore under the 13th finance commission, Rs 8 crore under non-plan grants, Rs 8 crore under SC and ST sub-plan for the development of city by laying new roads and constructing new drinking water pipelines. “We have already started working to make repair works to damaged roads, manholes and pipelines with the funds released by the state government. For a new pipeline construction in Rajiv Nagar, we have also received Rs 64 lakh and Rs 8 crore for the construction of 6,400 individual latrines in the city,” said the commissioner.
Besides this, with the revenue survey, the corporation has collected Rs 82 crore in the city in the past few months. He expressed confidence that the corporation would overcome its financial crisis without resorting to any hike in the property tax.