The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh News : Eco-budget extension mooted

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Wednesday, Oct 10, 2007
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Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

Eco-budget extension mooted

Staff Reporter

It has helped the stakeholders understand sanitation, water supply

GMC to set up water testing laboratory by 2010
135 litres per day will be supplied beyond 2010

GUNTUR: European Union funded Eco-Budget programme implemented in Guntur Municipal Corporation in association with Italian city Bologna Municipality since 2005, has helped all the stakeholders understand where they stand with regard to sanitation, water supply.

Eco-Budget programme developed a concern for environmental aspects by administrators setting some goals for themselves in greening the city and improving the air quality in addition to Water Supply quantity, quality and improving general cleanliness of the city through prompt garbage removal, said Mayor Kanna Nagaraju presiding over a review meeting of Eco-Budget programme European delegation led by funding agency Eco-Budget Asia’s India Project Coordinator Vikram Roy. “We are in the nascent stage where we have just learnt to improve ourselves in several aspects and are doing our best to reach long-term goals. While we could achieve some success with regard to water supply by improving the quality tested on 14 parameters and quantity,” said Mr. Nagaraju.

Long-term target

At the programme-end meeting the project coordinator Emani Kumar said that as a long-term target the GMC proposes to set up a permanent full-fledged water testing laboratory by 2010, it could plug leakages in the supply system and reduce losses from 44 per cent to 34 per cent.

The Bolognian representatives Pamela Lama and Minije said that a good beginning had been made and they were happy that there was coordination between political parties in taking forward this programme.

Due to better planning and implementation of projects, the quantity of water supply could be scaled up, said Telugu Desam leader and former Mayor Chukka Yesuratnam. While losses during supply of water through tankers/pipelines within the corporation limits would be minimised to international standards by 2010, in four pilot areas water would be supplied 24 hours a day immediately.

As a long-term plan 135 liters per day would be supplied beyond 2010 from current 120 LPD, completely segregate the garbage by 2015 and resort to scientific landfill.

Target regarding Greening of the city could be achieved up to 20 per cent, while 44 per cent of Air Quality improvement could be achieved in three years, the final report presented at the meeting said.

Several corporators, non-governmental organisations, Mayor and Deputy Mayor Tadisetty Murali requested the Eco-Budget Asia to continue the funding of further programmes to continue this pace of development in the city.

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