The Planning Commission deputy chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia cautioned Chief Minister N. Kiran Kumar Reddy against delay in the execution of Hyderabad Metro Rail project. “The delay in the implementation the project could lead to huge cost over-runs,” Dr Singh told Mr Reddy, when they met on Wednesday to discuss the state plan outlay for fiscal 2012-13.

The United Nations Food and Agricultural Organisation is funding a pilot project to enable the state’s farmers to reverse the environmental degradation and rural poverty in the state by applying scientific methods to groundwater management.

Baseline studies jointly conducted by the FAO, Centre and state government have identified seven districts in Andhra Pradesh to effectively implement the best practices in sustainable cropping patterns to combat climate change.

With water crisis slowly taking on alarming proportions, substandard packaged drinking water, without proper labels and ISO certification and quality checks, are more freely available in the market, raising risks of contracting water-borne diseases.

With the Water Board failing to supply adequate safe drinking water, residents are forced to buy water from private companies. But water bottles or pouches of many companies are sold without proper labels or adequate quality checks, officials said.

Groundwater levels in the state are receding at an alarming rate. While groundwater in many areas was already in the ‘critical’ category earlier, village after village in the state is now nose-diving into the ‘over exploited’ category when it comes to harvesting groundwater.

This perilous status of groundwater in AP has been conveyed to the authorities by the groundwater department. What is worrying the experts is that while on one hand, despite the rains, there is little recharge of groundwater due to massive urbanisation, on the other hand, rampant deep borewell drilling continues to lead to depletion of groundwater resources.

The state government has proposed to amend the existing rules to curb illegal sand quarrying in the state by increasing the penalty three-fold; from Rs 10,000 to Rs 30,000 per truck carrying sand without a valid permit. According to the proposed amendment, the penalty imposed on each tractor carrying five tonnes of sand will be Rs 15,000 and Rs 3,000 per additional tonne. As per existing rules, the government can grant a lease for a period of more than one year.

Farmers in 143 villages spread over nine pilot hydrological units in seven districts of Andhra Pradesh will soon show the world their expertise in estimating the available water resources and accordingly plan whether to go for a short or a long-duration crop.

This will be proof of their complete empowerment and considering the impact in the future of climate change, it will be the ultimate, said Peter E. Kenmore, India Representative of the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO-UN).

AgSri Agricultural Services Private Limited, the Hyderabad-based social enterprise, has signed a memorandum of understanding with the US-based Driptech Inc, the makers of low-cost drip irrigation systems, to help small farmers in Andhra Pradesh. Priced at Rs 12,000 per acre, the system scores high in acceptance due to its easy installation and maintenance.

Sounding a note of caution, about the adverse impact of underwater sand mining, Chief Justice Madan B. Lokur asked the advocate-general to seriously reconsider its policy on allowing it. The Chief Justice was hearing a batch of writ petitions on sand mining along with Justice P.V. Sanjay Kumar. The High Court had put a ban on sand mining across the state with effect from April 1 and the state government had filed an appeal, urging the court to lift the ban.

The Water Board and the Secunderabad Cantonment Board are accused of minting money by selling water through mobile tankers instead of supplying it by the pipeline network.

Citizens naturally wonder why, if water is available for thousands of trips made by tankers, it is not available though the pipeline distribution system.

Chief Minister N. Kiran Kumar Reddy on Wednesday expressed concern over the increasing water woes in the state.

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