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.
