Hyderabad: Telangana Government today appealed to the Centre to extend financial assistance to Mission Bhagiratha to provide safe drinking waters in villages.
Pancayat Raj Minister Errabelli Dayakar Rao attended a meeting of Rural Development and Panchayat Raj ministers from all States in Delhi called by Union water resources minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat. In the meeting, Dayakar Rao urged the Centre to provide 50 per cent of funds to the water scheme as it costs Rs 45,000 crore to the State government.
The minister said the State government was also spending Rs 2000 crore towards maintenance of the scheme which is a financial burden. He later told the media that he urged the Centre to give financial assistance for the water scheme. The country’s youngest State was able to tide over water problem during Summar by implementing the Mission Bhagirtha scheme, Dayakar Rao said.
“I also urged the Centre to bear expenditure for maintaining the Mission Bhagiratha scheme in Telangana as it will help deliver water to poor in the villages. The Centre has appreciated the State for its schemes and also several other States were replicating Telangana model of Mission Bhagiratha to supply purified drinking waters to rural pockets. (NSS)
