Gram Sabhas Revive Rural Development in Andhra Pradesh

 Tirupati: The NDA government's initiative to revive village assemblies (Gram Sabhas) across Andhra Pradesh is giving results. These assemblies, which were largely neglected during the past five years, were simultaneously conducted in all gram panchayats throughout the state on August 23 by the current administration.

The response from villagers has been overwhelming. In these meetings, officials including mandal parishad development officers, tahsildars, panchayat secretaries and local residents collectively identified the infrastructure needs for their respective villages. MLAs attended the Gram Sabhas held in their constituencies.

In the Chittoor district alone, 1,407 projects worth Rs 92 crore were identified in 700 panchayats during the Grama Sabhas. Of these, cement concrete (CC) roads valued at Rs 65 crore have already been approved and the bureaucratic process for these projects, including preparation of estimates, obtaining technical approvals, geo-tagging, and ID allocation for each work, has been completed.

“In addition to CC roads, other infrastructure projects such as CC drains and cattle sheds have been identified. Approximately 207 such works, valued at Rs 23 crore, are slated for approval soon. The district administration aims to complete all projects identified in the Gram Sabhas by the end of March next year. Grama Sabha committees are expected to take the initiative in commencing the already approved CC road works,” an official stated.

Amid these developments, the Kuppam constituency—represented by Chief Minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu—is receiving attention from the administration. The constituency received the highest allocation for CC road approvals in the district, with 223 projects worth over Rs 15 crore, followed by the Puthalapattu constituency, while the Nagari constituency received the least funding. Additionally, the district collector is conducting a weekly grievance day on Thursdays to address local issues.