The state seems to be stealthily moving to gift away government land in the upmarket Banjara Hills to private parties. The Hyderabad district revenue administration and a private individual, Ghousia Begum, have been fighting over five acres of land near Kalinga Bhavan in Banjara Hills for several years now. On Tuesday, chief secretary Pankaj Dwivedi issued orders (GO Ms No 2342) constituting a Group of Ministers to examine “issues relating to regularisation of lands.”

The construction industry in Andhra Pradesh has come to a grinding halt following imposition of ban on sand mining by the high court to protect the riverbeds from indiscriminate exploitation of the natural resource. While the court stuck to its directive in the interest of the environment, there is a growing sense of restlessness in the construction industry over the adverse impact of the non-availability of sand on the projects in real estate, irrigation, housing and other sectors.

‘Purpose Not Being Served As Towns Aren’t Ethnically Diverse’

When completed, it will be India’s largest lift-irrigation project, boasting of the longest gravity canals, aqua-ducts and tunnel systems, spanning some 1,055 km. More than that, the Rs 40,000 crore Pranahita-Chevella project is being touted as the solution to all the problems of perennially parched Telangana: It is expected to irrigate nearly 17 lakh acres of cultivable land, which is currently at the mercy of monsoon, and provide drinking water to over a dozen towns and cities, including Hyderabad and Secunderabad.

Cities in India are dreaming of becoming New York and London but we seldom worry about as basic an issue as sewage and its disposal in our country. The Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) has brought out a two-volume book titled Excreta Matters: Report on the State of India’s Environment to highlight how only 20 per cent of sewage is being treated in the country. Sunita Narain, director general, CSE, talks about the murky issue plaguing the water sources in this interview to Rashme Sehgal.

Shortage of water is not due to lack of water but due to its mismanagement, the Samiti members said here on Monday.

Projects not implemented: According to them, Karnataka received 725 tmc ft of water under , which should be enough for small, medium and large irrigation projects; but they aren’t being implemented, specifically the Upper Krishna project.

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.

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.

Chief Minister N. Kiran Kumar Reddy on Wednesday expressed concern over the increasing water woes in the state. He was reviewing the preparedness of the administration for the month-long Prajapatham, a government initiative to visit villages during the hot summer season and address people’s problems, in a video conference with the district collectors.