Irrigation for 73 lakh acres, houses for all: APCM

Hyderabad, May 13 (UNI) Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Dr Y S Rajasekhara Reddy today assured the people that his government would provide irrigation facilities to 73 lakh acres and houses to all the needy by the time it completed its five-year term.

In an open letter to the people on the eve of his completion of two years in office, Dr Reddy said, while an irrigation potential for 72 lakh acres of land was created in the state since independence, his government would be creating an additional irrigational potential for 73 lakh acres during its five year term at a cost of Rs 50,000 crore.

He said, already water was released to 25 lakh acres and some moere would be released for 7.5 lakh acres would be created during the Khariff season this year. He said this was the biggest irrigation initiative in the entire nation. He also said that his government has provided Rs 10,000 crore for the irrigation sector in the budget and was completing projects on war footing.

Dismissing the criticisms on his 'Jala Yagnam' (Irrigation Initiative) as those by vested interests for political gains, he said even the Yagnas performed by sagess faced impediments. He said such impediments and criticisms only strengthen his resolve to go ahead with the irrigation projects and achieve the goal the government set for itself. He reminded that senior parliamentarian Ch Rajeswara Rao has complimented him for taking up a massive irrigation initiative though he belonged to the opposition.

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