By Mohammed Siddique, TwoCircles.net,
Hyderabad: In first of its kind move, the Andhra Pradesh government has decided to name a major water supply scheme in Hyderabad after the prominent freedom fighter and India’s first education minister Maulana Abul Kalam Azad.
The scheme, envisaged to bring 10 TMC ft water from river Godavari to Hyderabad city, will be called Maulana Abul Kalam Hyderabad Sujala Sravanthi scheme and it is estimated to cost Rs 3375 crore.
Till now the Congress government in the state had been naming all the major schemes only after the former Prime Ministers Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi. It will be first time that any major project in the state will be named after Maulana Azad.
Country’s only National Urdu University, established in Hyderabad by the central government through an act of Parliament is also named after Maualana Azad.
The Chief Minister said that the state government has proposed the water supply scheme to the central government for assistance and it will be completed in 30 months. Under the scheme water will be drawn from Pranahita-Chevella project. The preparatory work has already begun. The ten tmc ft of water fro Godavari would be in addition to the 180 tmc ft of water which will be supplied to Hyderabad and its surroundings from river Krishna. The city is already getting 90 tmc ft of water from Krishna and the Phase II of the project is under implementation.
At a high level review meeting with the officials on Sunday, the Chief Minister also directed the officials to complete the ambitious “Hussain Sagar Lake and Catchment Area Improvement Project” as per schedule. The project has been taken up with an estimated cost of Rs 310 crores for improvement of lake water quality and increasing the eco-tourism potentiality in Hyderabad city.
The Chief Minister set the deadline of 2014 to make Andhra Pradesh complete slum free state through integrated development of slums, including drinking water supply and sewerage management, housing, development of roads and solid waste management programme.
[Photo: Maulana Azad by M.F. Hussain [TCN photo]