AP agrees to release Rs.40 crore for Pulichintala oustees

Hyderabad: The neighbouring Andhra Pradesh government needed to give Rs 132 crore as compensation for displaced people in villages of Nalgonda district, Telangana Irrigation Minister T Harish Rao said on Sunday.

Of this, AP Irrigation Minister Devineni Uma Maheshwar Rao agreed to release Rs 40 crore immediately, he said.

Harish held a review meeting on this issue with Nalgonda Collector T Chiranjeevulu, Government Advisor (Irrigation) R Vidyasagar Rao and higher officials of irrigation department at Secretariat on Sunday.

Elaborating details, Harish stated that people in 13 villages were getting displaced and many schools and temples, sankshema bhavan and graveyards were also affected because of the project, he said. Harish made a phone call to his Andhra Pradesh counterpart during the meeting, and the latter responded positively and agreed to release one-third of amount initially. Commenting on the ‘lakes restoration’ drive, Harish pointed out that it would be taken up with active participation of people and added the programme would initially be launched in villages that come forward voluntarily.

Further, government decided to appoint a Chief Engineer each for Krishna and Godavari basins for minor irrigation purposes apart from deputing a Superintendent Engineer for each district.

Meanwhile, Harish stated government quarters in Nagarjunasagar, which were left unoccupied for decades, would be auctioned in the coming months.