The Hindu         06.01.2015 

‘Smart city’ plan for Ongole unveiled

Telugu Desam Party MLA D. Janardhana Rao has said that Ongole would be made into a ‘smart’ city at an expenditure of Rs. 1,500 crore.

Speaking to the media on Monday, he said Union Urban Affairs Minister M. Venkaiah Naidu had promised a Central assistance for Rs. 423 crore to augment the drinking water supply to the city from Gundlakamma river and strengthening its processing and distribution network. Under the NTR Sujala Sravathi scheme, 24 reverse osmosis plants would be set up to cover all divisions in the city to distribute 20 litres of water at just Rs. 2 in slums, he added.

Drainage problem would be a thing of past as the government had approved a Rs. 83-crore scheme to modernise the Potharaju canal. All drainage lines in the city would be connected to the canal in the north and Nallavagu in the south, he explained.

The ambitious plan included slum-free Ongole, upgrade of the road network, setting up of a theme park with boating and other recreation facilities at Rangarayuduchervu, an auditorium and a stadium. Solar energy would be tapped to set up traffic signalling systems at important road junctions. “We are in the process of finding a permanent solution to garbage problem. About 20 acres has been identified on the city outskirts for a permanent dumping yard,” he added.

House sites would be provided to all eligible beneficiaries on a saturation basis , he said.