The minister for women and child welfare, Mrs N. Rajyalakshmi, said that irrigation officials had not yet taken up the proposals she gave for some minor irrigation schemes in her Venkatagiri constituency in 2006. She brought this to the notice of the district in-charge minister, Mr Pinnamaneni Venkateswar Rao, during the district review committee meeting held on Tuesday. Several MLAs also expressed concern over the attitude of irrigation staff with regard to completion of lining works of distributary canals under Pennar delta modernisation programme. The Surveypalli MLA, Mr Adala Prabhakar Reddy, alleged that work on Surveypalli, Jaffar Saheb and Kodur canals was very slow and it would invite criticism from the farming community. He reminded that farmers had already postponed the second crop because of the delay in the work. Further delay would force them to give up cultivation for another season. "They are certain to protest if the works are not completed in stipulated time-frame," said Mr Adala. Farmers had expressed concern at the delay when he visited the villages during the recent Praja Patham programme, said the MLA. He said that contractors were not coming forward to take up certain works because of unviable rates. The Kovur MLA, Mr Polamreddy Srinivasulu Reddy, also chided the irrigation officials for laxity in finalising the tenders of Sangam barrage. "Work has not started even two years after the Chief Minister laid the foundation stone," he said. The MLA questioned the rationale behind postponing the tender finalisation process and asked the irrigation officials to inspect the canals and clear them of obstructions. Similarly, the Udayagiri MLA, Mr Mekapati Chandrasekhar Reddy, took a dig at irrigation engineers for their failure to prepare a plan to address the irrigation needs of Udayagiri region even after the Chief Minister gave instructions.