The proposal for an underground drainage system for the town seems to be gathering dust in the Ministry of Urban Development after an in-priniciple sanction was given to the project during UPA-II in 2013.
The Union Ministry of Urban Development, acting on a representation from the former Anantapur MP Ananta Venkatrami Reddy, received a proposal from the Anantapur Municipality for constructing an underground drainage system at a cost of over Rs. 400 crore.
However, as the Municipality did not hold elections back in 2013 and the Collector headed the Municipality, the Urban Development Ministry stopped short of according sanction and granting funds for the same.
The Telugu Desam Party came to power in July 2014 winning the Anantapur Lok Sabha seat, represented currently by J.C. Diwakar Reddy. As the elected Municipal Council was in place, one expected that the underground drainage project would soon be approved.
However, this was not the case.
The only news about the project one heard was the statement by Anantapur MLA Prabhakar Chowdhary that he had submitted a representation to the Union Minister for Urban Development Venkiah Naidu in December last.
Mr. Diwakar Reddy is yet to make even a statement even as the Union government waxes eloquent on the importance it gives to the Swacch Bharat campaign and more so on complying with the provisions of helping out the seven backward districts in Andhra Pradesh as per the Andhra Pradesh State Re-Organisation Act passed by Parliament.
Threat to public health
Meanwhile, there is a serious thereat to public health as lakhs of litres of waste water and sewage go through open drains with septic tanks connected to them. More than 80 tonnes of solid waste is created per day.
The municipality is literally dependent on thousands of pigs that roam the streets freely to rid it of at least some of the waste from the drains, district secretary of the CPI, Jagadeesh, told The Hindu .
Unless the underground drainage system is constructed, the town, which is graduating from one civic infrastructure problem to another owing to the surge in people coming into the town for livelihood, will see serious public health problems in the near future.
