The government has initiated steps to give full freedom to the Hyderabad Disaster Response and Asset Monitoring and Protection Authority (HYDRAA) in discharging its duties, especially clearing encroachments on Full Tank Level (FTL) and buffer zones of water bodies spread across the Greater Hyderabad limits.
The decision follows questions raised over the power conferred by the government on the authority, after several departments sought amendments to the Acts governing them to ensure that HYDRAA carries out its functions uninterrupted.
Accordingly, rules pertaining to the functioning of the authority have been relaxed and the Council of Ministers, which met here on Friday, gave its consent to the changes required.
169 officers
In addition to relaxing rules, the Cabinet approved enhancement of human resources for the authority. Accordingly, 169 officers would be appointed for effectively managing HYDRAA and 964 staff would be deployed from different departments to work exclusively for the authority, Revenue Minister Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy, Irrigation Minister N. Uttam Kumar Reddy and R&B Minister Komatireddy Venkat Reddy told reporters late on Friday evening.
The Ministers said that 27 urban local bodies and 51 gram panchayats had been incorporated into the core urban area inside ORR. The Cabinet approved the decision taken by the government recently.
In addition, it was proposed to constitute a high-level committee for finalising the alignment of the southern part of Regional Ring Road. The committee to be headed by the Special Chief Secretary of Roads & Buildings department would have officers from the Municipal Administration, Revenue and other departments, as well as Collectors of districts adjoining the proposed RRR and senior officials of the National Highways Authority of India as members.
₹500 a quintal bonus
Mr. Uttam Kumar Reddy said that government proposed to implement its promise of ₹500 a quintal bonus to fine rice from the Kharif season itself. Anticipating high production of paddy during the current season owing to good rainfall, the Cabinet approved an allocation of ₹2,500 crore towards payment of bonus to farmers for fine rice.
Announcing that the process of issuing new ration cards would commence next month, he said that it was decided to ensure that fine rice was supplied to white ration card-holders from January in place of raw rice that was being supplied at present.
SLBC tunnel works
The Irrigation Minister said that the Cabinet approved revised estimates pertaining to Srisailam Left Bank Canal (SLBC) to the tune of ₹4,637 crore. It was resolved to ensure that the works were completed within two years with outermost limit fixed at September 2027. The project envisaged drawal of 4,000 cusecs a day from the dead storage level of Srisailam project amounting to 30 tmcft a year for irrigation lands in Nalgonda, Munugode, Devarakonda and other backward constituencies of the erstwhile Nalgonda district.
“It will take 20 months if the project works are done in full speed. But we are giving a maximum of three years for completing the project,” he said. The tunnel works would be taken up at the rate of 400 metres every month and efforts would be made to ensure that the project met its timelines.
The Minister drew parallels with the Kaleshwaram LIP asserting that it could not irrigate even one lakh acres after spending ₹1 lakh crore. The SLBC tunnel project, in sharp contrast, would irrigate four lakh acres by spending ₹4,637 crore.
The Cabinet also approved the decision to name the Women’s University at Koti after Chakali Ilamma, renaming the Potti Sriramulu Telugu University as Suravaram Pratap Reddy Telugu University and the Indian Institute of Handloom Technology after veteran freedom fighter Konda Laxman Bapuji.
Published - September 20, 2024 10:10 pm IST
