Nandyal district administration has set a target of completing the works taken up under the ‘Jaladhara-Jalaharathi’ programme before July 1. Collector Rajakumari Ganiya had directed the officials concerned to meet the targets for completing the works, third-party verification and documentation of success stories.

According to officials, 2,103 works were sanctioned in the district under the initiative; of them, 1,587 have been completed so far, and 516 are pending.

As rainfall is expected in the first week of July, officials were asked to draw up a special action plan to complete the remaining works. She said a Central Water Commission team would carry out third-party verification of water conservation structures built under NREGS as part of the ‘Jal Sanchay-Jal Bhagidari’ programme. Officials were checking whether the photos uploaded online matched the structures on the ground, she said. The State government’s intelligence wing and special third-party teams are also closely monitoring the works.

The Collector warned against marking tasks ‘complete’ in the online system before they were finished on the ground, or compromising on quality in the rush to complete them. She also wanted no discrepancies between field-level reports and online data.

Officials found that Rudravaram mandal had the highest number of pending tasks, 52, followed by Dhone (46) and Kolimigundla (43); the officials concerned were advised to pay special attention to pending works in other mandals as well.

“While recording the success stories of the ‘Jaladhara’ programme, the documentation should include not only the details of the works but also the tangible results achieved through them,” Ms. Rajakumari told officials. The extent to which the ayacut (command area) had been stabilised or expanded through the development of tanks should also be documented, she said.

The improvement in groundwater levels and the benefits to farmers from the increased capacity of the tanks should also be documented.