New problem for Mission Bhagiratha

Hyderabad, February 13: The Chief Minister Sri K. Chandrashekar Rao renamed the Telangana Drinking Water Grid Project as Mission Bhagiratha.

The main aim is to provide best & healthy drinking water to rural & urban areas. The government has faced many problems to construct Mission Bhagiratha and a new problem is raised.



The project's pipelines work need to be carried over 12,890 crossings on National Highway Roads, Roads and Building (R&B) department roads, canals and rivers, railway crossings and panchayat raj department roads to complete the works.

Apart from these, the state is worried about taking over forest land as many pipelines pass through forest land.

Sources said forest permissions are required to take over about 1,000 acres in 97 sub-segments of Mission Bhagiratha scheme.But with various procedures involved in taking over forest land, only 21sub-segments have got preliminary permissions.

Incidentally, of the 97 sub-segments, 22 falls inside wildlife areas. For other areas, land acquisition procedures for taking over 636 acres were completed.

Telangana government has taken up the ambitious project Mission Bhagiratha to provide tapped water supply to 24,248 habitations in the state.The scheme has already been operational in 605 habitations in Gajwel constituency since August 2016.

Recently Mission Bhagiratha vice-chairman Vemula Prashanth Reddy has directed the officials to complete the project by December this year and asked the officials to prepare a comprehensive action plan for internal pipeline works. He asked the daily progress reports on the project works.

Official sources said while the required pipeline is 51,327 km, the government procured only 8900 km and laid 3124 km. The executing agencies are reportedly doing the works slowly as the government has not cleared bills for the agencies.