Daijiworld Media Network - Udupi (HB/SP)

Udupi, May 19: District in-charge minister, Pramod Madhwaraj, directed the executive officers (EO) of all the taluk panchayats (TP) in the district to serve notices on panchayat development officers (PDO) who delay payment of bills pertaining to the supply of drinking water.

He was speaking after presiding over a meeting of officials relating to problems in connection with drinking water, which was held at the travellers bungalow here on Thursday, May 18.

As a number of gram panchayats have kept bills relating to water supplied them through tankers pending with them, the administration is facing problems in payment of bill to the suppliers. At any cost, no bill should be kept pending beyond 24 hours of its receipt, and payment should be made to the concerned promptly without fail, he told the officials.

The minister asked the officials to furnish to him details of various works undertaken in the district to meet drinking water problem, works that are in different stages of completion, works that have been completed, and those which are yet to be taken up, before May 30.

He asked the deputy commissioner of the district to send a proposal to the government seeking additional grants out of calamity relief fund to meet drinking water needs of the district. He also gathered information about the way drinking water needs of the people are met in towns and local bodies.

Deputy commissioner of the district, Priyanka Mary Francis, local tahsildar, Maheshchandra, municipal commissioner, Manjunathayya, executive officers of all the taluk panchayats, engineers of rural drinking water supply department, and Mescom officials participated in the meeting.