Municipal Administration and Urban Development Minister Dr P. Narayana said that if necessary, a new law will be brought to establish a special system similar to HYDRA in Telangana to remove encroachments in ponds and flood canals in the state. He said that during the YSRCP regime, the flood water was inundating the residential areas due to the massive constructions that had been undertaken by occupying the water resources.
Narayana made it clear that only with the removal of encroachment structures, disasters like Vijayawada floods will not be repeated in AP. He made it clear that irrespective of political affiliations such encroachments should not be encouraged. In the case of structures belonging to the poor, he said that they will be removed only after making alternative arrangements.
The Minister said that Budameru floods are not human error but negligence of the previous government. Due to the surge of Budameru, he said that around 40 places on three roads in Vijayawada were dug up and flooded water was pumped out. Presently the situation is normal.
He recalled that Tenders were called for the development of the Budameru flood canal under the previous TDP government. “But the subsequent YSRCP government has ignored them out of anger against us. That is the curse of Vijayawada. The NDA coalition government will complete the pending works”, he added.
Dr Narayana said that steps are being taken to complete the underground sewage system works in Guntur and to remove encroachments in Nellore.
“We are taking further action on the reports given by the Committee of Officials and ACB on the TDR Bonds Scam. We will inquire about the involvement of ministers, MLAs and MPs of the previous government in this scandal. We will take a decision after discussing these with the Chief Minister. We are bringing special software so that this type of manipulation does not repeat itself”, he added.