Minister for Rural Development and Panchayat Raj H.K. Patil, who heads the Cabinet sub-committee on drought, has asked the district administration and zilla panchayat to ensure that tanker water was supplied within eight hours of receiving a call from residents.
He was addressing a review meeting on drought relief works in Yadgir on Thursday. Mr. Patil held Manoj Jain, deputy commissioner, and Vikas Suralkar, zilla panchayat CEO, responsible for lapses in drinking water projects and inefficiency in implementing schemes.
Earlier, Mr. Jain briefed the Ministerial team about how the district administration has Rs. 5.97 crore to tackle the situation and provide drinking water and fodder to cattle. He said the action plan to take up a drinking water project at the cost of Rs. 2.40 crore has already been approved, and instructions have been given to officials to start work immediately.
He said the district has adequate fodder stock, but it had already been proposed that seven fodder banks be set up. Two of them — at Naikal and Balichakra villages — have already been set up, and another at Kembhavi village will be set up shortly.
Meanwhile, Mr. Suralkar explained that the district aims to generate 20.74 lakh man days in 2016-17 under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act. Former Minister and Yadgir MLA A.B. Malaka Reddy alleged that panchayat development officers and ZP CEOs were not working properly to implement MGNREGA works. He said, “If the CEO works properly, 50 per cent of the problem would be solved.”
In response, Mr. Patil directed Mr. Suralkar to complete the projects and take action against officials not working properly. He also asked the officials to open control rooms at all taluk panchayat offices and the zilla panchayat as well to attend to the public’s grievances.
Minister H.K. Patil says top officials would be held responsible
for lapses
