Shivamogga: Rural development and panchayat raj minister Eshwar B Khandre on Sunday said Rs 67,000 crore was being spent on Multi-Village and Single-Village Drinking Water Schemes to supply surface water to rural areas amid depleting groundwater levels.Presiding over a departmental review meeting in Shivamogga, Khandre directed officials to complete pending work on a war footing to provide clean drinking water. He said 80% of Single-Village Scheme works had been completed, while 40% of Multi-Village Scheme works remained pending across the state.To address immediate shortages, he instructed officials to hire private borewells or supply water through tankers from alternative sources. Tanker operators should be paid promptly to prevent disruption, he said.Khandre said substantial funds in deputy commissioner’s personal deposit account remained unused and called for immediate steps to drill new borewells and prepare for summer.On delays in laying pipelines through forest land, he said a meeting with senior forest department officials would soon be convened in Bengaluru to resolve clearance issues.He warned panchayat development officers of disciplinary action if drinking water problems in any village were not resolved within 24 hours.Responding to Bhadravati MLA Sangamesh’s complaint about water problems in Tolamaghatta village, Khandre reprimanded the local panchayat development officer and rural water supply engineer. He directed zilla panchayat CEO to take strict action if supply was not restored within 24 hours.Khandre said providing roads, drinking water, streetlights, sanitation and timely E-Swathu property documents was the primary duty of panchayat staff serving more than 4.5 crore rural residents.Following grievances from Kalmane gram panchayat, he directed rural development department deputy secretaries to undertake field visits twice a week and submit reports to ZP CEO.MLAs Sangamesh and Sharada Puryanaik, MLC Balkis Banu, and district and rural development and panchayat raj officials attended the meeting.
About The Author
