Wednesday, January 13, 2016

Steps to meet flood challenge and for rain water harvesting

CHANDIGARH, JAN 13
Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal today said that it was for the time in the history of Haryana that the meeting of Haryana State Flood Control Board has been convened in the month of January to making preparations well in advance to deal with any eventuality and for rain water harvesting.
          Mr Manohar Lal was presiding over the 47th meeting of Haryana State Flood Control Board here today. All the Deputy Commissioners attended the meeting through video conferencing.  The Board approved 107 new schemes worth Rs 129 crore for strengthening the flood control system in the state. He assured that all these schemes would be completed well before the onset of monsoon season in the month of July. The Board has also approved Rs 256 crore for 140 ongoing schemes.
          Finance Minister Capt. Abhimanyu, Agriculture and Irrigation Minister Mr O.P Dhankar, Chief Parliamentary Secretaries namely Mr Shyam Singh Rana and Mr Bakhshish Singh Virk were also present in the meeting.
          He said that earlier, this meeting used to be held in the month of March and sometimes as late as May as a result of which most of the flood control schemes remain uncompleted. “Now, we would not only ensure the timely completion of flood control measures but the quality of works would also be ensured, said Mr Manohar Lal.
          He said that a 3-member committee would be constituted to monitor various flood control measures on day-to-day basis in the State to ensure their effective and efficient timely completion. The Committee would review the progress of all flood control works with DCs in the month of May. All these works should be videographed so as ensure transparency, he added.
                    While directing the Deputy Commissioners to take up all these works on priority basis, the Chief Minister said that he would convene a meeting of all DCs preferably in the first week of June to see for himself, the status of work approved in their respective districts. In case of non- completion of work by then, the concerned Deputy Commissioner has to give a valid reason for the same, he added.  He described the water as lifeline and said that mismanagement and misuse of water is dangerous. He directed the DCs to ensure optimum utilization of water.
          While expressing concern over few areas that usually got submerged during the monsoon season, the Chief Minister directed to prepare a comprehensive plan for such chronic areas so that the farmer’s crop might not be affected. Taking a serious view of complaints regarding power cuts on lift irrigation projects in district Jhajjar and Rewari, he directed the Deputy Commissioners of both the districts to ensure uninterrupted power supply on these projects. Both the DCs would take up this matter with the Power Department so as to ensure that there are no power cuts and water is supplied regularly, he asserted.
          Four new works of Public Health Engineering Department worth of Rs 10.39 crore were also approved in the meeting. These were storm water drainage scheme for existing drain or nallah from Bawal road to Garhi Bolani raod in Rewari at a cost of Rs 3.05 crore, covering of existing open nallah with RCC slab and raising of nallah with brick works in some places in various streets of block Radaur in district Yamunanagar at a cost of over Rs 34 lakh, laying of storm water RCC pipe  from Ambedkar Chowk to Aggarsain Chowk  in Karnal a cost of over Rs 74 lakh and construction of sump well, pump chamber and installation of machinery for urban storm water drainage works in Kaithal at a cost of Rs 6.25 crore.
          It was informed in the meeting that directions have been issued to all Deputy Commissioners in the State to ensure that payment is only made after receiving 80 per cent of the material. It was also informed that all the defected drainage pumps would be got repaired before June 30, 2016. Apart from this, there is a requirement for 130 additional new pumps for which tenders would soon be opened.
          Principal Secretary to Chief Minister Mr Rajesh Khullar, Additional Chief Secretary, Finance Mr Sanjeev Kaushal, Additional Principal Secretary to Chief Minister, Mr Rakesh Gupta, Additional Chief Secretary Irrigation, Mr Ram Niwas, Principal Secretary, Public Health Engineering Department Mr Alok Nigam and other senior officers were present in the meeting.
===balbirsingh227@gmail.com

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