Govt to fix water meters in state: AP CM

Vijayawada, Feb 10 (UNI) Putting at rest the controversy which arose during the Vijayawada Municipal Corporation (VMC) meeting with regard to fixing water meters for tap connections, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy today assured the government would not reverse its decision to fix meters in the state.

Talking to newspersons during his one-day visit to the commercial city, Dr Reddy said under the pilot projects, water meters would be fixed in three to four places in the city. He assured that the Government would provide free water supply to the poor people to the maximum extent possible and would not burden them.

The Government would also assess the situation and implement meters in other cities gradually.

Dr Reddy said water meters would be installed only in the houses of the rich and income-tax assesses. The Government was drawing additional power from neighbouring states by investing Rs 1150 crore to meet the state's requirements, he added.

After the Congress Government returned to power in 2004, the government had provided free power to the peasants which was strongly criticised by opposition parties, he said. Therafter, the government had conducted Saddassulu in 22 districts and feedback received from farmers was encouraging, he added.

The Chief Minister said under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Rural Mission (JNNURM), the government had allocated Rs 1800 crore across the state, except Hyderabad out of which, Rs 600 crore was given to the city.

He said in the next 20 years, 30 per cent of people would migrate from the rural areas to the urban areas for a livelihood. Of the ten crore population in the state, about five crore would be living in urban areas, he abserved.

In order to meet future demands, the government was contemplating to develop infrastructure in all the urban areas and would ensure that disease does not affect people due to water contamination, he said.

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