VIJAYAWADA: Water Resources Minister P Anil Kumar directed officials concerned to complete the process of handing over 50 acres of alternative land for diversion of forest land in a month for execution of Varikapudisela Lift Irrigation Project. He said that CM YS Jagan Mohan Reddy would soon launch the works and asked the officials to expedite the pre-execution works.
In a review on Thursday, he observed that there was a delay in handing-over the land to forest department and instructed revenue and forest departments to expedite the land identification, preferably in a week’s time, and complete the process in a month so that first phase environmental clearance could be obtained. The minister also said the designs pertaining to the first phase should be approved at the earliest.
Anil Kumar Yadav said that the State government, with support from MPs, would pursue clearance for the second phase forest diversion. In the meantime, the minister issued instructions to the officials to complete survey for Phase-2 and submit the detailed project report (DPR) works as administrative sanction has already been approved for the same. He also asked them to conclude the tender process latest by September.
“Both the phases will help irrigate 80,000 acres of land in Durgi, Veldurthi and Bollapalli mandals. The project, estimated to `1,613 crore, will help the drought-affected Palnadu region,” Yadav added.Narsaraopet MP Lavu Sri Krishna Devarayalu, government whip P Ramakrishna Reddy, engineer-in-chief (water resources) C Narayana Reddy, chief engineer (central designs organisation) K Srinivas and other officials participated in the review meeting.