Jal Jeevan Mission 2.0–Amarajeevi Jaladhara aims to bring piped water to every rural home, while the CM pitches river-linking to make Rayalaseema drought-free
Kadapa: Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Monday said his government is taking an integrated approach to water, covering drinking, irrigation and industrial needs together. He was speaking at the launch of the Jal Jeevan Mission 2.0–Amarajeevi Jaladhara programme at Kothapalli village in Proddatur constituency.
Naidu launched the scheme with deputy chief minister Pawan Kalyan. It will provide tap connections to another 27.36 lakh rural households and strengthen the existing network serving 61.60 lakh connections, at a total cost of ₹30,156 crore. The plan covers 24,601 habitations, 13,075 overhead reservoirs and about 77,000 km of new pipelines, and is expected to benefit roughly 3.27 crore people.
Naidu accused the previous government of spending only around ₹2,600 crore on the mission despite substantial central funding. He said his government has invested ₹24,000 crore in irrigation over two years and plans 36 more projects worth ₹35,000 crore.
Arguing that linking the Godavari and Cauvery could end drought in south India, Naidu said using even 200 TMC of Godavari floodwater could make Rayalaseema fertile. He also predicted the region, long stereotyped in films for factional violence, would become known for globally competitive industries, including defence manufacturing.
Pawan Kalyan said the plan includes 50,283 single-village schemes worth ₹9,000 crore and 32 multi-village schemes costing ₹19,500 crore. Fluoride-hit, drought-prone and kidney-disease-affected areas such as Uddanam will get priority.
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