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The Andhra Pradesh government is planning to increase the area under coffee plantation in the eastern ghats of Visakhapatnam district, by at least one lakh acres, as the Girijans in the scheduled area are deriving substantial benefit out of it, according to Panchayat Raj Minister Ch. Ayyanna Patrudu.
At a meet-the-press programme organised by the Vizag Journalists' Forum here on Thursday, the minister said Araku valley and Paderu in Visakhapatnam district were non-conventional coffee growing areas and the both the State Government and the Coffee Board were encouraging coffee plantation. "The Girijan farmers are gaining Rs 60,000 or so per acre and it has brought about a substantial change in their lives. Pepper is being grown as an inter crop. The Government is planning to enhance the acreage by one lakh," he said.
He said there were some irrgeularities reported in the past in the use of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme and the State Government had recovered Rs 80 crores or so. Steps were being taken to recover the rest. "We have effected certain changes in the use of funds under the rural employment job scheme with emphasis on asset creation. In villages, the funds under the scheme will be used for construction of buildings for panchayats and for internal roads,"he said.
State-level water grid
Ayyanna Patrudu said Andhra Pradesh was taking steps to create a state-level water grid, on the lines of Gujarat, with a 30-year timeframe in mind. "We have estimated that Rs 30,000-40,000 crores will be required for the scheme and 155 tmc ft. of water will be stored. A corporation is being created for the purpose," he said.
Swatch Bharat
He said it was estimated that 62 lakh houses in the State do not have toilets."We will try to provide toilets for the houses keeping in view the Swatch Bharat campaign launched by the Prime Minister in the next five years. A sum of Rs 15,000 will be granted to each household for the purpose. We will try to involve NGOs in implementing the scheme," he said.
NTR Sujala Sravanthi scheme
He also spoke about the NTR Sujala Sravanthi scheme introduced by the State Government to provide 20 litres of clean drinking water for Rs 2 in villages and expressed confidence that it would reduce water-borne diseases.
#sarma.rs@thehindu.co.in
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