Irrigation Minister Uttam Kumar Reddy has appealed to the Centre to waive or reduce the interest charged on loans taken by the BRS government for irrigation projects as they have now become a burden on the government. He said that if possible the interest on these loans should be waived entirely or partially.
Uttam Kumar Reddy was speaking at the International Water Week Conference being held from Tuesday at the Bharat Mandap in New Delhi under the auspices of the Union Water Ministry.
Inaugurated by President Draupadi Murmu, the conference is being attended by the minister as well as irrigation officials. The conference will continue for four days.
Speaking at the conference, Uttam said the TG government is giving priority to irrigation and that every year around six lakh acres are being irrigated afresh. He said that Rs 29,000 crore has been allocated to this sector in the current budget.
Uttam said that in addition to the efforts of the state government, there should be adequate assistance from the Centre. The Centre is allocating lakhs of crores for infrastructure and the same should be allocated for the construction of irrigation projects, he said.
He appealed to the Union Water Power Minister to provide clearances as well as funds from the Centre for irrigation projects.
Uttam held talks with representatives of the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank for loans to fund irrigation projects.
Regarding the Sammakka–Saralamma Irrigation Project launched by the TG government, Uttam appealed to the Centre to give clearances after consulting with Chhattisgarh.
