AP to Construct 7,213 km of Roads with Rs.4,976 crore: Dy. CM Pawan

Vijayawada: Andhra Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan underlined that progress is possible only if special attention is paid to connecting villages with roads. In this connection, he directed officers of the panchayat raj engineering department to actively implement the proposals for construction of 7,213 kilometres of roads at an expenditure of ₹4,976 crore.

Pawan Kalyan conducted a review meeting with officials of panchayat raj and Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) at his camp office in Vijayawada. During the review, AIIB officials briefed the Deputy CM about the Andhra Pradesh Rural Road Project.

Following this, Pawan Kalyan said everyone should remember that construction of roads in villages will bring in social and economic benefits, along with poverty alleviation. He wanted officials to seek more assistance from the central government for the construction of rural roads.

The Deputy Chief Minister said that every village with a population of more than 250 people needs to be connected by roads. He said the construction of quality roads in rural areas will be possible through the Andhra Pradesh Rural Road Project, which had started in 2018–19.

Pawan Kalyan said, "During the previous government, there had been severe delays in payment of bills. This hampered the process of road construction in rural areas. Once we solve this problem, quality roads will be available to people in rural areas. This will make rural development possible.”

The Deputy CM said a special portal will be developed to periodically review the transparency in works of the engineering department of Panchayat Raj Department at the field level. A special column will be included in that portal, so that suggestions can be received from people, he stated.

Pawan Kalyan requested the central government to make necessary changes and reduce the 30 per cent matching grant to be provided by the state government to 10 per cent in the Andhra Pradesh Rural Road Project .

AIIB officers Farhad Ahmed, Dr. Ashok Kumar and Sivaramakrishna Shastry, panchayat raj department chief engineer Balu Naik, and APRRP officers C.V. Subba Reddy and P.V. Ramana Murthy were among those who participated in the meeting.