There is scope to spend ₹9,000 crore under the NREGA scheme in this financial year, Chief Secretary A.C Punetha has said.

Conducting the Neeru-Pragathi weekly review in a teleconference with Collectors, Mr. Punetha said that NREGA works to the tune of ₹8,549 crore, with ₹4,446 crore as wage component and ₹4,102 crore as material component, had been completed. There was opportunity to take up works worth ₹9,000 crore under the scheme.

The Chief Secretary asked the Collectors and heads of line departments to take all measures to see that there was no shortage of drinking water this summer.

Making the departments of Water Resources, Rural and Urban Development, Medical and Health accountable, Mr. Punetha said that care should be taken to fill all drinking water tanks in advance and ensure only protected water was supplied to people.

Officials were asked to be alert about the spread of communicable diseases like diarrhoea and malaria and the control of mosquitoes that acted as vectors for many diseases. All line departments should work with perfect coordination, he said.

Anganwadi buildings

Reviewing progress in the construction of Anganwadi buildings, the Chief Secretary said that 1,359 buildings had already been completed and another 4,558 were still in progress.

In order to tide over shortage of fodder, ₹56.67 crore had been sanctioned for the development of Livestock Fodder centres, he said. As much as 1,49,446 tonnes of silage would be distributed to farmers and 52,476 tonnes of fodder had already been distributed.

In drought mandals, 1,04,997 tonnes of silage and 56,040 tonnes of fodder had been earmarked for distribution, Mr. Punetha said.