Cong refutes oppn charge on neglect of irrigation sector

Hyderabad, Feb 21 (UNI) The Congress Legislature Party (CLP) today refuted the charge of the Telugu Desam Party and CPI(M) leaders that the State Government had neglected the state's irrigation sector.

Addressing a press meet at the CLP office here, party MLAs Jalagam Venkata Rao, C Vamsi Krishna and Sreedhar Babu said the state government had taken up several irrigation projects with more budgetary allocation to provide water for lakhs of acre.

They said though the government had allocated funds for Dummagudem and Rajiv Sagar Lift irrigation projects in Khammam District to provide irrigation water to four lakh acre in the district, the TDP and CPM had organised a 'padayatara' to malign the government. They said work for Dummagudem would start by Ugadi this year.

The Congress leaders said the State Government had given priority to irrigation and was committed to complete all projects in phases.

The government had allocated Rs 13,000 crore for irrigation projects during 2007-08 to bring more land under cultivation.

They said the Government had allocated Rs 500 crore for four pending irrigation projects in backward Mehboobnagar district. After completion of these four projects, an additional 8.5 lakh acre of land would come under irrigation in the district, they added.

UNI