KCR seeks officials’ take on water grid

Hyderabad: Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao has sought the opinion of officials on whether the government should implement his dream project - Telangana Drinking Water Grid - estimated to cost Rs 25,000 crores or it should go in for private public participation.

While some senior officials were in favor of handing over this gigantic task of laying pipelines from reservoirs to rural and urban areas in all districts to private sector, the Chief Minister wanted the officials to explain what should be done.

Addressing engineers of Rural Water Supply (RWS) at a workshop organised at Prof. Jayashankar Agricultural University, Rajendranagar, from across the ten districts, Rao recalled how the engineers had successfully laid over 60 kms long pipeline from Lower Manair Dam to Siddipet and helped him solving drinking water problem.

“We are talking about grid in Gujarat and other places. If our highly skilled engineers take a vow, I see no reason why the project could not be replicated here," he said.

Rao said the that the government would take care of the issues like lack of staff, vehicles, and technical devices and the officials should guide him with regard to technical matters.

Rao called upon RWS engineers not to fail him in grounding of this prestigious project in the next three to four years.

Later the AEs, EEs and SEs expressed their views about the need to strengthen the department. He directed officials to examine proposal to include two more Assembly constituencies under one RWS division as against the three constituencies at present.

Meanwhile, RWS Engineers’ Association announced that they would donate one-day salary for the water grid project.