Angry Harish warns of stalling bills

TARDY SAGAR CANAL WORKS

• A team of ministers raps contractors for shoddy work
• Contractors, officials told to quicken the pace of work
• Supply of irrigation water to every acre of land in Khammam, Nalgonda districts stressed

Hyderabad: Telangana ministers, on Monday slammed building contractors for poor quality and very slow modernisation works at Nagarjunasagar Left Canal in Nalgonda district. They directed the officials to stop paying bills to the contractors for not maintaining quality in the works besides tardy pace.

A group of ministers paid a visit to the NSP left canal on Monday morning and rapped the contractors and officials concerned for not maintaining quality of the works. Along with Energy Minister G Jagadish Reddy, Roads & Buildings Minister Tummala Nageshwar Rao and local leaders, Irrigation Minister T Harish Rao inspected the works and found them to be going on at a snail’s pace.

“The bills of the contractors should be immediately stalled”, an angry Harish Rao directed the officials. He also said the works should be expedited and unless quality was not maintained the contractors’ bills for payment should be withheld, he said.

Harish Rao said modernisation of the Sagar left canal would supply irrigation water to Nalgonda and Khammam districts. “Our intention is to supply water to wet every acre of land in the two districts”, Harish Rao asserted. He also directed the officials concerned to expedite the works to ensure that the standing crops get timely water supply from the canal.

The government, he said, will help farmers reap in benefits through timely suggestions on water management, use of fertilisers and crops. Steps will be taken to ensure that they will witness better yield this year and the government will make efforts to provide agriculture produce get minimum support price and build adequate number of storage centres in the districts for storage.