The Hindu 23.04.2013
Prioritise water distribution: Chandy
Chief Minister Oommen Chandy has asked the district administration and the civic bodies to give priority to drinking water distribution.
Says legal, technical issues should not be a hurdle.
His exhortation came at a review meeting of the district’s drought situation here on Monday.
Mr. Chandy said legal and technical issues should not be a problem for drinking water distribution. He said permission was granted to the civic bodies, District Collector, and Kerala Water Authority to spend as much as Rs.20 lakh for distributing drinking water in vehicles.
The Chief Minister requested the officials to make effective use of the procedural concessions granted by the government for drinking water distribution. He urged them to give priority to ensure the quality of the water being distributed.
Advance and more
Mr. Chandy asked the officials to avoid contractors who had been blacklisted. He said all panchayats would be given Rs.50,000 as advance, and effective use of it would fetch another Rs.50,000. He said the stipulation that the village officer should sign on the drinking water bill was no longer binding.
The Chief Minister asked the MLAs to convene meetings at the constituency level to solve drinking water-related issues.
Mr. Chandy appreciated the efforts of the district administration in managing the drought situation in the district. He said the foresight of the administration under District Collector M.C. Mohandas had reduced the intensity of the drought in Malappuram.
The district had gone according to an action plan formed on August 4, 2012, to contain water sources, including the major rivers. The bunds built across major waterbodies had reduced the depletion of groundwater in several parts of the district.
As many as 2,935 schemes were taken up in the 15 blocks across the district to face the summer. As many as 535 of them were temporary bunds, and the work on 507 was over.
‘A model’
The Chief Minister said other districts should emulate the work done by Malappuram in managing the drought situation.
It was in 2012 that the State witnessed the lowest rainfall in the past five years. Most of the wells, ponds, and other waterbodies were affected by the shortage of rainfall. While the water level in open wells was the lowest in Vengara, that in bore-wells was the most affected in Perinthalmanna.
Minister for Industries P.K. Kunhalikutty; Minister for Education P.K. Abdu Rabb; Minister for Urban Development Manjalamkuzhi Ali; Minister for Tourism A.P. Anil Kumar; Minister for Agriculture K.P. Mohanan; Minister for Revenue Adoor Prakash; MLAs from the district; district panchayat president Suhara Mampad; District Collector M.C. Mohandas; District Superintendent of Police K. Sethuraman; municipal chairpersons; office-bearers of the Panchayat Association; and district administration officials attended the review meeting.
