Governor E.S.L. Narasimhan and Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu on Tuesday inaugurated the Neeru – Pragathi programme aimed at harvesting every drop of rain water in the State. After arriving at the Puttaparthi airport by a special aircraft from Hyderabad, Mr. Narasimhan and Mr. Naidu reached the venue of the programme at Srinagar Colony here by a helicopter.
Addressing a public meeting after inspecting the photo exhibition arranged at the venue depicting the achievements of the Neeru – Chettu programme that preceded Neeru — Pragathi, Mr. Naidu said that the government was committed to transforming Rayalaseema into “Ratanala Seema” (land of gems).
‘Panta Sanjeevani’
“We should not be afraid of drought. The general perception that Anantapur is prone to drought is bound to change,” Mr. Naidu said, and exhorted people to dig farm ponds in their fields as part of the ‘Panta Sanjeevani’ scheme.
Under the scheme, it is targeted to dig one lakh farm ponds at an estimated cost of Rs. 600 crore in Anantapur district with a view to harvesting rainwater for use during lean period to save standing crop. The scheme required a huge outlay with an average farm pond of the size of 10 x 10 x 2 metres costing Rs. 61,000, Mr. Naidu said, and assured the district administration of unhindered access to funds for the programme. Referring to Neeru — Pragathi, Mr. Naidu said: “Water is core to our life and future. Hence the programme has been aptly named. The government will take up large-scale construction of check-dams on streams and rivulets to harvest rainwater. I have also decided to extend the Panta Sanjeevani programme to the entire State, under which 10 lakh farm ponds would be dug.”
Recalling that the Handri Neeva Sujala Sravanthi (HNSS) project was launched by former Chief Minister N.T. Rama Rao, he said that the government was diverting 80 tmcft water from the Godavari directly and another 20 tmcft from the rivulets and streams on the way through the Pattiseema project to the Krishna delta and that a similar quantum of water would be made available to the Rayalaseema region from the Srisailam dam.
“While the Krishna, the Tungabhadra, and the Penna face ever lesser inflows due to projects in the upper riparian States, close to 3,000 tmcft of water is drained into the sea through the Godavari, the Vamsadhara, and the Nagavali. Hence, the government has decided to accord top priority to interlinking of rivers,” said Mr. Naidu.
Interestingly, the Chief Minister said that construction of the Polavaram would take four years.
‘Ananta Santosha Puramu’
Mr. Narasimhan, speaking at the meeting, said that he had seen the name of Anantapur district change to “Anantapuramu”, and he had no doubts that it would be changed into “Ananta Santosha Puramu” in the next six months after implementation of the Panta Sanjeevani programme.
Later, the Chief Minister and the Governor flew back to Puttaparthi and from there to Hyderabad.
