Prepare Action Plan to Meet Drinking Water Needs for Next 25 years: CM Revanth
CM chalks out water action plan for 25 years
Hyderabad: Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy has ordered the officials of Hyderabad Water Board to envisage plans to develop required infrastructure and assess future needs for the supply of safe drinking water to the denizens of Greater Hyderabad in next 25 years.
In view of the fast expansion of Greater Hyderabad, the Chief Minister emphasised that an action plan should be developed to meet the drinking water needs of the growing population by 2050.
He asserted that a sewage plan should also be prepared along with drinking water supply to every household and if necessary, a study should be conducted with agencies and consultancies.
The Chief Minister held a meeting with the officials of Hyderabad Water Board at the Integrated Command Control Center here on Friday.
Perhaps, it is the first time that the Water Board meeting is held after the formation of the Telangana State. As the Chairman of the Board, Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy presided over the meeting.
During the meeting, the officials briefed the Chief Minister that the Water Board has been supplying adequate potable drinking water to the people of Hyderabad city. Drinking water is being supplied through 13.79 lakh tap connections from 9,800 km of drinking water distribution network. Currently, the water board supplies drinking water from river Manjira, Singoor, Godavari, and Krishna. The meeting discussed the project designs to bring more water through Godavari Phase 2 and supply drinking water to Usman Sagar and Himayat Sagar.
The Chief Minister and the officials also examined whether to lift water from Mallanna Sagar or Kondapochamma Sagar as the water source for the Godavari phase 2 project for Hyderabad's drinking water needs. Based on the reports submitted by the consultancies and in view of adequate availability of water and reasonable lifting cost, the meeting decided to take up the drinking water supply project from Mallanna Sagar .
The Chief Minister approved to bring 20 TMC of water instead of the previously proposed 15 TMC of water to meet the increasing city drinking water needs.
On the occasion, Water Board MD Ashok Reddy explained the income and expenditure report of the Hyderabad Water Board through a powerpoint presentation.
The Board MD explained that the income received by the Water Board is sufficient to pay salaries, allowances to the employees and the maintenance costs of drinking water supply. Various departments and government offices owed Rs4,300 crore to the water board. The water board needs to pay the pending dues of Rs 5,500 crore electricity bills and the previous loan amount of Rs 1,847 crore. The board is facing a revenue deficit of Rs 8,800 crore, the official said.
Revanth Reddy observed that the revenues and expenditure is not promising and hence an immediate action plan should be prepared in coordination with the Finance department to overcome the crisis.
The Chief Minister suggested that the Water Board should also explore ways to increase its own income and study the policies to be followed for that.
Stating that 20,000 liters of water is already being supplied free of cost in the city, he asked the officials to collect the pending dues of water bills regularly. The Water board is also ordered to raise required funds for new projects and choose alternatives to get the loans at low interest rates. The project DPRs should be prepared for that purpose, the Chief Minister said.
Officials explained to the Chief Minister that the pipelines that have been supplying water from river Manjeera to many areas in the city since 1965 are outdated. Due to this, water supply is interrupted for about 10 to 15 days if the repairs are not made.
Revanth Reddy ordered a new project to be undertaken to construct another modern line as an alternative along the old line. If necessary, the officials should prepare a project report so that funds can be obtained through the Jal Jeevan Mission which is being implemented by the Union government.
Chief Minister's Advisor Vem Narender Reddy, Chief Secretary Santhi Kumari, Municipal department Principal Secretary Dana Kishore, Special Principal Secretary Ramakrishna Rao, Irrigation Secretary Rahul Bojja, HMW Board MD Ashok Reddy, GHMC Commissioner Ilambarithi and Special Secretary to the Chief Minister Ajith Reddy participated in the meeting.
