Hyderabad: Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy on Thursday directed officials to complete land acquisition for all major irrigation projects in the undivided Mahabubnagar district on a war footing, stressing that project works could not progress as planned unless land acquisition and relief and rehabilitation (R&R) issues were resolved. He said the timely completion of these components was essential for meeting the deadlines set for irrigation projects aimed at transforming the drought-prone Palamuru region.
The Chief Minister, accompanied by irrigation minister N. Uttam Kumar Reddy, ministers Damodar Rajanarsimha and Vakiti Srihari, and senior officials, inspected the progress of ongoing irrigation works during his two-day visit to Mahabubnagar district aimed at fast-tracking key irrigation projects.
During a review meeting, Revanth Reddy instructed officials to expedite the completion of major irrigation projects in the region and made it clear that land acquisition should be treated as the highest priority.
He said project works could not move forward without completing land acquisition and directed district collectors to coordinate closely with local MLAs and MLCs to ensure the process was completed without delay.
The Chief Minister asked collectors to personally visit project areas and oversee the land acquisition process at the field level. He also assured officials that the government was ready to sanction funds whenever required for land acquisition and rehabilitation activities.
Briefing the media after the review, irrigation minister Uttam Kumar Reddy said the government would accord top priority to land acquisition and R&R issues in the implementation of the Palamuru-Rangareddy Lift Irrigation Scheme and other irrigation projects in the Palamuru region. He made it clear that civil construction works would be taken up on a large scale only after the completion of land acquisition-related components.
The minister said substantial progress had already been achieved in several components of the Palamuru-Rangareddy project. Narlapur Reservoir has reached 100 per cent completion, while works at Yedula Reservoir have crossed 95 per cent completion.
At Vattem Reservoir, bank works have been completed, and concrete and embankment works are progressing. In Karivena Reservoir, most embankment works have been completed, while a portion of the concrete works remains under execution.
Emphasising the need to focus on trunk infrastructure, Uttam Kumar Reddy directed engineers to utilise available resources for critical infrastructure that would yield maximum benefits. He asked officials to prepare realistic work plans linked to specific financial requirements and timelines and instructed them to act swiftly in pursuing court cases to ensure stays on project works were vacated. Officials were also directed to provide advance monthly fund requirement projections to facilitate better financial planning.
Reiterating the government’s policy direction, the minister said officials had been instructed to first complete all land acquisition-related works. Quoting the Chief Minister, he said the focus should be on completing the Part-A component of the projects, which pertains to land acquisition and R&R. Once that phase is completed, the government would aggressively take up Part-B civil works. He observed that spreading resources across multiple fronts simultaneously would not serve any meaningful purpose.
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