GUNTUR: The municipal corporation is taking steps to develop the villages, which were recently merged with the Guntur city, thereby increasing the number of wards by 10. Villages of Gorantla, Adavi Takkellapadu, Reddypalem, Swarnabharati Nagar, Idwa Nagar, Krishna Tulasi Nagar, Peda Palakaluru, Nallapadu, Ankireddypalem, Pothuru, Chowdavaram, Etukuru and Budampadu were merged into the city and number of wards increased from 52 to 62.
Minister for Home M Sucharitha conducted a review meeting with the Guntur Municipal Corporation (GMC) special officer and collector I Samuel Anand Kumar, commissioner C Anuradha, officers and elders of the merged villagers at GMC office on Saturday.
The representations from the villages told the minister about the issues that they face. Sucharitha then directed GMC officers to resolve those issues on war footing.
“The government has allocated Rs 20.70 crore after coming to power for various developmental works and 83 works have been started for the development of the merged villages. Foundation stone for drinking water supply was set up under the Amrutha Scheme at an estimated cost of Rs 33 crore,” the minister said.
She further said that the government-sanctioned funds and invited tenders to lay water supply pipelines in Budampadu, Etukuru and other villages.
She alleged that the previous government was negligent in the development of these villages, which has increased the difficulties of the public. The GMC officials were instructed to construct drains on both sides of the roads in the villages.
“Top priority should be given to developing the merged villages by interacting and taking the feedback of the locals,” she said.
She directed the officers to stop the functioning of private borewells, who supplying drinking water in response to money.
The collector directed the electricity department officials to stop the power supply to private borewells with immediate effect and said that the ground-level water table decreased in these villages because of these borewells.
GMC commissioner Anuradha said that the GMC has sanctioned 11,234 water taps to supply drinking water in the merged villages. “The GMC has proposed a plan in two phases to resolve the water supply problem at an estimated cost of Rs 152 crore and the same has been submitted to Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank,” she said.