More than 50,000 people would benefit from the National Rural Employment Generation Scheme in East Godavari by March-end. Under this programme, works were carried out in 296 minor irrigation tanks in 29 mandals in the district. The district collector, Mr M. Subrahamanyam, carried out a review of the NREGS at the territorial development centre in Samarlakota on Monday. He asked officials to speed up the works in the remaining 148 irrigation tanks to meet the target fixed for NREGS. The collector also directed the designated Panchayat Raj and Indiramma programme engineers to observe all norms while taking up the works. Engineers should also carefully supervise completion of shutter repairs and strengthening of bunds, said Mr Subrahmanyam. The project director of District Water Management Agency, Mr R. Amarendra Kumar, and engineers of Panchayat Raj and NREGS participated.

Does away with middlemen; ten States keen to replicate model The implementation of National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS) through biometric smart cards in Andhra Pradesh has attracted nationwide attention, with many States planning to adopt a similar method. Financial Information Network and Operations Ltd (FINO), a Mumbai-based technology solutions provider, is presently implementing NREGS in five districts of Andhra Pradesh by paying wages through biometric smart cards. "The hassle-free mode of payment sans middlemen has become a hit with the unskilled manual labourers. Encouraged by the feedback, at least 10 other States, including Orissa, Karnataka, Gujarat and Tamil Nadu, are showing interest in adopting similar methods,' Mr Rishi Gupta, Chief Financial Officer and President (Sales), FINO, told Business Line over phone from Mumbai. Implementation After a successful pilot programme in eight mandals of Warangal and Karimnagar districts, the payment of pension and National Rural Employment Guarantee Programme wages are now being paid through smart cards in 259 villages

Policy initiatives by the administration have put the resource-rich East Godavari district on the road to all-round development.

Proposes to irrigate around 230,000 hectares in Vijaywada, West & East Godavari and Visakhapatnam districts

Much to the Andhra Pradesh government's dismay, the National Environmental Appellate Authority has quashed the environmental clearance for the state's multi-crore Indira Sagar Project, formerly known

FEW roads cruise so perfectly through life's close hits and misses as the road to Kondamodalu - a quiet, beautiful village nestled in the Papikondalu hills in Devipatnam mandal of East Godavari district in Andhra Pradesh - does.

Rajahmundry, May 30: The supply of piped cooking gas which is on the cards for the last two years will become reality soon in East Godavari.
The district is likely to be covered in two phases. In the first phase, the five municipal areas of Kakinada corporation, Samarlakota, Peddapuram, Pithapuram and Tuni will be covered, and in the second phase, Rajahmundry and other municipal areas.