Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu and his deputy Pawan Kalyan on Monday launched Jal Jeevan Mission 2.0 works here in Kadapa district with an investment of Rs 30,156 crore.
The mission is aimed at ensuring safe drinking water at the doorstep of every rural household across the state, according to an official press release.
"We have started works worth Rs 30,156 crore today under Jal Jeevan Mission Amarajeevi Jaladhara programme," said Naidu, addressing a public meeting in Proddatur village.
Tap water connections expanded across rural Andhra Pradesh
Since the coalition government assumed office, tap water connections have been provided to 7.44 lakh families in 4,933 habitations across the state, said a press release.
The coalition government has now prioritised the provision of a continuous and safe drinking water supply to the people, it said.
After assuming office in 2024, Naidu and Kalyan renewed discussions with the Central government and worked towards extending the scheme's implementation period until 2028, the press release added.
Under the "Amarajeevi Jaladhara" programme, the government aims to extend drinking water facilities to another 27 lakh families.
When the Central government introduced the Jal Jeevan Mission in 2019, several states secured substantial funds for its implementation, the release said.
Through the Jal Jeevan Amarajeevi Jaladhara programme, the CM observed that an action plan has been charted out to provide tap water to every household.
He said the government took steps to supply water to 90 lakh houses, 48,000 rural places and 3.3 crore people.
Naidu targets YSRCP over water and irrigation works
Reflecting on Jal Jeevan Mission works during the erstwhile YSRCP government, the CM claimed that it spent only Rs 2,600 crore.
"Moreover, the works undertaken during that period relied largely on borewells for temporary water supply rather than establishing sustainable systems to ensure a permanent supply from reservoirs and other reliable water sources," the release said.
Naidu emphasised that Uttar Pradesh received Rs 1 lakh crore, Rajasthan (Rs 85,000 crore), Madhya Pradesh (Rs 83,000 crore), Karnataka (Rs 63,000 crore) and Assam (Rs 34,000 crore) under the scheme.
According to Naidu, villages were neglected during the previous government, and he called on people to look at the state of roads under the YSRCP government and the current TDP-led NDA government.
Compared to Rs 24,000 crore spent by the coalition government on irrigation, the TDP supremo alleged that YSRCP had spent only Rs 2,000 crore in the Rayalaseema region.
Naidu promised to complete the construction of the Polavaram Project before the Godavari Pushkaralu, a Kumbh Mela-like pilgrimage, and inaugurate it with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Amid drought, he observed that 2,000 TMC (Thousand Million Cubic) feet of water drained into the sea and stressed that using just 200 TMC feet of Godavari river water will make the Rayalaseema region green.
Naidu raises murder, liquor scam and recruitment allegations
Further, Naidu claimed that the ultimate beneficiary of YS Vivekananda Reddy's murder has been identified, alleging that Rs 40 crore exchanged hands for that crime.
Vivekananda Reddy is the uncle of former CM YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, and he was murdered in the run-up to the 2019 polls.
Naidu alleged that thousands of crores of rupees were looted in the liquor scam and claimed that all fingers point to the chief of YSRCP as the ultimate beneficiary of that crime, demanding an explanation.
Listing several other alleged irregularities, Naidu claimed that Group-I service answer scripts were evaluated by attenders and electricians.
Moreover, he questioned what YSRCP had done to Kadapa in the Rayalaseema region.