Minister for Irrigation and Civil Supplies N. Uttam Kumar Reddy has instructed officials to complete the restoration of minor irrigation tanks across the State in a time-bound manner as the work can’t wait any longer.
Speaking at a meeting of irrigation officials here on Saturday, he said the summer de-siltation of tanks was a statewide priority. He wanted the officials to begin work immediately from village-level tanks to larger systems – without waiting for new guidelines.
Senior irrigation engineers, members of the Agricultural and Farmer Welfare Commission and representatives from multiple departments attended the session, where the minister made it clear that the formation of tank committees through district administration would be also be taken up on priority basis.
“Committees must be formed without any delay. Each tank or cluster of local tanks should have a government-nominated committee with farmers forming the majority along with local officials and other stakeholders,” he said and wanted nominations finalised quickly on the basis of recommendations from the departments concerned with clear roles and rules defined through practical guidelines. He stated that the existing de-siltation guidelines were already available and the officials could follow them, start work and complete in the nearly two-month summer window. He questioned officials over the delay in processing the proposals, though instructions were given to this effect about 45 days back itself.
