The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh News : Central help sought for development of roads

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, May 30, 2004

Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

Central help sought for development of roads

By Our Staff Reporter

HYDERABAD, MAY 29. The Panchayati Raj (PR) Department has sent proposals for Central assistance of an estimated Rs. 1,250 crores for development of roughly 51,000 km of existing kutcha roads in rural areas into `all-weather' roads.

This was disclosed by the PR Minister, J.C. Diwakar Reddy, to presspersons on Saturday. Shortly after he took charge and occupied his chambers at the `J' block in the Secretariat, he signed the file pertaining to the proposal. He said that the assistance was being sought as a loan under the Prime Minister's Grameen Sadak Yojana. While the actual loan would be from financial institutions, which were yet to be undecided, the State Government would not have the burden of repayment, as it was the responsibility of the Centre, he said.

Even before he formally sat at his desk, Mr. Divakar Reddy had a review of the situation in the department with senior officials. Among those present were the Principal Secretary (PR), M. Samuel, the Additional Secretary, Muneendra, and the Commissioner, Debabrata Kantha.

Mr. Reddy alleged that an initial estimate had revealed `diversion' of a whopping Rs. 17,000 crores to other programmes, by the previous Telugu Desam government. The amount was allocated by the 11th Finance Commission and the State Government was to have disbursed it to the Zilla Parishads and other local bodies in the districts. "We will look into the diversion," he said.

Asked when the department would get a new Engineer-in-Chief, a position that had been lying vacant for about six months, he replied that it would be "taken care of". "I will look into the matter and sort things out very soon."

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