HYDERABAD - The Andhra Pradesh government plans to supply bottled mineral water to all its villages and introduce contract farming for better returns to farmers.

Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy Friday announced that the water supply scheme would be launched on Aug 15, Independence Day, in all 28,123 villages in the state which has a perennial drinking water problem.

In his inaugural address at the two-day conference of district collectors, the chief minister asked the officials to prepare details of the water supply scheme for each district.

“The mineral water scheme costs Rs.200,000 in each hamlet and this can supply safe drinking water to 1,500 to 2,000 people. I want every habitation in the state to be supplied protected drinking water,” he said.

The chief minister, who was addressing the first such meeting after assuming office for the second consecutive term, hoped that by next year 50 to 60 percent villages in every district would get bottled mineral water.

YSR, as the chief minister is popularly known, also announced that the government’s decision to introduce contract farming in the state will ensure good returns to farmers. He recalled that this was one of the three promises made by the Congress party in recent elections.

He has also called an all party meeting on June 29 to elicit opinion of other parties on the issue. “I want to make this a model programme for the entire country,” he told the meeting attended by his cabinet colleagues, top bureaucrats and district collectors of all 23 districts.

Pointing out that the state has 1.1 crore (11 million) land holdings with each farmer owning one to three acres of land, he said it was not easy to cultivate the fragmented lands and this was also not yielding benefits to the farmers.

Under contract farming, a group of farmers can come together and offer their lands for agriculture, horticulture, sericulture, poultry, goat or sheep rearing and allied activities. “If a group of farmers raise Rs.10 crore (Rs.100 million) by coming together, the government will contribute an equal amount and they can borrow another Rs.20 crore (Rs.200 million) to Rs.30 crore (Rs.300 million) from banks,” he said.

YSR pointed out that an Israeli company has already come forward to set up a dairy plant in the state with 10,000 cows. “After my recent meeting with Israeli ambassador, a reputed Israeli firm has come forward to set up the plant in the state. They are coming here next week to discuss land and other issues,” he said.

The chief minister said his government was not launching any new initiative due to the economic slowdown but asked the bureaucrats to strengthen the implementation of existing welfare schemes, which were already receiving acclaim from across the country and abroad.

YSR asked the officials to rededicate themselves to effectively implement the schemes launched by his government during the last five years. He blamed the poor delivery mechanism for the Congress party not getting overwhelming majority in the state assembly.

“People have said good, go ahead. They have not given us distinction,” he said and asked the officials to plug leakages, strengthen delivery system and be accessible to people. He wanted district collectors to keep computerised records of people’s petitions and the action taken to address them.

The Congress party, which retained power in the recent elections, bagged 155 seats in the 294-member assembly.

YSR also announced that he would make surprise visits to villages to see if the people were being provided with basic amenities and if the welfare schemes were reaching all the eligible people. He directed the officials to prepare helipads in every mandal headquarter for his helicopter to land.

The chief minister said schemes like Rajiv Arogyasri under which poor were getting free treatment in corporate hospitals and Abhayhastham or contributory pension schemes for women members of self help groups had become models for other states.