VIJAYAWADA : Directing the officials to take steps to avoid drinking water scarcity, Chief Secretary KS Jawahar Reddy asked them to supply water through tankers for the impacted areas till June. He also suggested the officials to take up works under the Jal Jeevan Mission with the approval of the Chief Electoral Officer after the completion of elections in the State on May 13.
Chairing a meeting with the officials of Panchayat Raj and Rural Development (PR&RD) and Municipal Administration departments at the State Secretariat on Friday, Jawahar Reddy said that there should be no scarcity of drinking water in rural and urban areas. Taking stock of the summer storage tanks filled with the water released from canals recently, he also enquired about the groundwater levels in different parts of the State.
Reviewing the works being done under Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS), he directed the officials to expedite the works as the screening committee approved the shelved off projects under the scheme.
Informing that drinking water is being supplied through tankers to 281 habitations, Principal Secretary (PR&RD) Shashibushan Kumar said that approvals were given for supply water through tankers for 3,075 habitations till June. He said that 28.56 lakh people engaged in work under NREGS on Thursday (May 2).
He said the Election Commission gave permission to spend `29 crore for implementation of summer action plan in drought-affected mandals.