RAJANNA-SIRCILLA: MAUD Minister KT Rama Rao instructed officials not to bow to pressure with regard to podu cultivation. Any mistakes on their part would be dealt with strictly, the Minister said.Rama Rao held a review on forest lands and an awareness programme on podu lands at the collectorate here on Saturday.
During his visit to his constituency, Rama Rao told officials that nearly 8,000 acres of forest land had been encroached and these matters needed to be streamlined. He directed collector Anurag Jayanti that a complaint box should be set up at the collectorate.Cutting across politics, forest land needed to protected, he emphasised. Eight mandal public representatives participated in the programme.
From November 8, awareness programmes would be conducted at villages on podu lands. Petitions would be collected from those cultivating podu lands and the government would take a decision after a field-level investigation. Forest and revenue departments should conduct joint surveys for a permanent solution, he said. The district’s forest area needed to grow by 10 per cent, he opined.Earlier, Rama Rao along with NFSCOB chairman Kondur Ravinder Rao formally inaugurated the Karimnagar District Cooperative Central Bank branch in Sircilla town.