Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu on Monday held a meeting and discussed various possible ways in which drinking water and irrigation needs of the drought-prone Udayagiri area in Andhra Pradesh's Nellore district can be met.
Present in the meeting were NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant, Parameswaran Iyer, Secretary, Drinking Water and Station, and UP Singh, Secretary, Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation. The Vice President shared with them the concerns of the people of this area, read a statement.
In recent past, the Vice President has been talking to people of Udayagiri constituency, from where he was elected as MLA in 1978 for the first time. While enquiring about the general well-being, they informed the Vice President that groundwater levels in the area have depleted considerably, most of the tanks/borewells have dried up and various water supply schemes are not serving the water needs to the fullest.
They also informed him that this is the seventh consecutive year when there were inadequate rains. Most of them requested Naidu to find out ways of getting water from the Krishna basin or Somasila project.
In today's discussion with the Vice President, officials suggested that they would explore various options in consultation with the Government of Andhra Pradesh and see what might be the most feasible option.
The Vice President advised Secretary, Water Resources to discuss with Central Water Commission and find out about the technical feasibility. He also suggested that the Detailed Project Report (DPR) and the various ongoing efforts of the State Government to mitigate the water crisis including through the Water Grid project could be studied, the statement added.
After a preliminary assessment is made, Naidu advised that a delegation of senior officials from the Ministry of Jal Shakti as well as from NITI Aayog and Central Water Commission could visit the area and interact with the concerned stakeholders to understand the ground reality and suggest a way forward.
Meanwhile, Naidu held a meeting to review the preparedness for regular meetings of Department Related Parliamentary Standing Committees along with Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on May 23.
( With inputs from ANI )