Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhara Rao has asked the district Collectors to supervise Water Grid works in their respective districts and remove all the obstacles in laying the pipelines.

“The Government brought in an Act to provide the right of way for officials for the project. You must coordinate with all the departments concerned to ensure smooth implementation of the project,” he said.

Addressing the conference of district Collectors here on Friday, the Chief Minister asked them to see to it that the pipelines are laid at least six feet below as they pass through the agricultural lands.

The Government is planning to connect all the hamlets and villages in the State with a piped grid covering a stretch of 80,000 kilometres to provide drinking water to all houses. It would also provide water to agricultural and industrial purposes.

The Chief Minister to take a cue from Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) to provide good infrastructure in cities and make the urban areas clean and neat. “About 42 per cent of people of Telangana are living in urban areas. This could grow to 50 per cent very soon. Keeping this in view, wee must focus on providing good infrastructure,” he said.

The Collectors were told to declare a Rural Day and an Urban Day in each district every month in order to give a thrust to developmental activities.

He said the Government had allocated Rs 27,000 crore on various welfare schemes as against Rs 8,700 crore in the past (in the undivided State).