Centre sanctions Rs 369 crore to AP for floride problem

New Delhi, Feb 20 (UNI) The Centre has sanctioned Rs 369 crore to Andhra Pradesh to help the state tackle the problem of floride in water while West Bengal has been given Rs 600 crore to deal with the arsenic problem.

Rural Development Minister Raghuvansh Prasad Singh told reporters here of these Rs 69 crore have been sanctioned on the submission of Andhra Pradesh government and Rs 300 crore given to it by the 12th Finance Commission to deal with floride in the water, which is a major cause of crippling disease 'florosis' in the state.

Andhra Pradesh along with Karnataka and Rajasthan face a major problem of floride in water. The Centre has also approved establishing a centre in Andhra Pradesh to ensure quality of drinking water.

Stating that the Ministry was giving utmost priority to providing quality drinking water to the people, Mr Singh said tackling the issue of floride and arsenic in drinking water was being focused.

West Bengal, Asom, Bihar and Jharkhand, all states along the Ganges river, face a major problem of arsenic, a poisonous substance in the water. He said West Bengal has been given Rs 600 crore for tackling arsenic in drinking water.

The Minister lauded the achievements of Andhra Pradesh government in implementing various rural development programmes, including the National Employment Guarantee Act. He said the Centre allocated Rs 1597.85 crore to the state during 2006-2007 of which Rs 1484.8 crore were released upto December 2006 and Rs 869.97 crore have already been spent.

He said 13 districts of Andhra Pradesh, covered under NREGA, have been given Rs 938.05 crore in the first phase. Fifty lakh job cards have been issued and 18 lakh households have been provided employment, he added.

Mr Singh said the achievements of the state under the Prime Minister Gram Swarozgar Yojana and the SGRY were also good. However, the state has not fared well in the Total Sanitation Programme.

UNI