Hyderabad: Panchayat Raj and Rural Development Minister Dr Danasari Anasuya Seethakka directed officials to complete One lakh soak pits across Telangana by August 15. She said Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy would honour the best-performing officials, gram panchayats and public representatives who achieved the target.
The Minister said the programme would strengthen the State’s long-term water conservation efforts. She also announced district-wise review meetings from August 7. The reviews will monitor progress and ensure officials meet the targets.
Seethakka instructed officials to conduct gram sabhas every Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. She told them to identify the 318 categories of works under the VBG Ramji programme. She directed them to begin the works immediately according to village needs. Gram sabhas, she said, should become the centre of village development planning.
The Minister also instructed officials to accelerate Telangana Jalasiri works on a war footing. The programme includes soak pits, farm ponds, spring ponds and borewell recharge structures. These works will improve groundwater levels.
One lakh soak pits to boost water conservation
To strengthen monitoring, Seethakka directed officials to constitute committees at the mandal level. Each committee will include the Mission Bhagiratha Assistant Engineer, Panchayat Raj Assistant Engineer, MPDO, APO and the Mandal Mahila Samakhya president. The committees will review progress regularly and improve coordination.
Seethakka issued the directions during a video conference from the Secretariat on Saturday. Special Chief Secretary Dana Kishore, Commissioner Divya Devarajan and Special Commissioner Srilakshmi participated. Additional Collectors (Local Bodies), District Rural Development Officers, District Panchayat Officers, CEOs, MPDOs and Panchayat Secretaries also attended.
Further, Seethakka instructed officials to speed up the VBG Ramji programme to address the impact of El Niño. Meanwhile, she directed them to prepare the Gram Panchayat Samagra Abhivrudhi Pranalika (GP SAP) using a scientific approach. The plans should reflect local needs and available resources.
Moreover, the Minister said rural employment remained a priority during the El Niño period. She instructed officials to provide work to at least 60 labourers every day in every gram panchayat. She also asked them to expand water conservation works alongside employment generation.
Accordingly, Seethakka instructed officials to collect village-level data and prepare manual development plans. She directed them to complete software entries without delay. District and mandal authorities must organise GP SAP training programmes. She said the government was pursuing rural employment, water conservation and integrated village development together to address the challenges posed by El Niño.