Buoyed by the praise of Prime Minister Narendra Modi for innovative efforts in harvesting water, Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu has raised the targets set for constructing the panta sanjeevani (farm ponds) in the State from present six lakh to 10 lakh.
The people and the government machinery should take inspiration from Mr. Modi’s praise and take the neeru-pragati programme to a logical conclusion, he said addressing a tele conference here on Monday. Mr. Modi made a specific mention of Andhra Pradesh’s innovative technological initiatives for drought proofing, including use of rain guns, during his Mann Ki Baat programme on Sunday.
Mr. Naidu said that the initiatives of the Government in conserving water had won accolades. Andhra Pradesh set an example. In the days to come, A.P. would be a role model for the country in water harvesting. At this juncture, it was necessary to speed up the programme.
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The officials should play a proactive role, he said, adding, “The Central government was carefully observing the water conservation in A.P. The Centre would release the required funds.”
Farmers happy
The farmers were happy to see water accumulating in their farm ponds following recent rains. They were approaching the officials expressing willingness to dig
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As of now, two lakh farm ponds were being constructed.
The government set a target to construct five lakh farm ponds by June 13. The target of six lakh farm ponds need to be raised to 10 lakh farm ponds, he said.
Rainfall
Mr. Naidu said that 7 cm of rainfall was registered in the State following the depression in the Bay of Bengal recently. The ground water levels also rose significantly.
All these were results of sustained and constant efforts of the Government.