AP Govt aims to develop rural infrastructure

Amaravati: State government has laid special focus on rural infrastructure and identified focus areas with an aim to provide basic infrastructure such as roads, drinking water, solid waste management and LED street lighting.

According to planning department, Chittoor, the home district of Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, tops the list in backwardness with several hundreds of habitations are without road connectivity and without being provided 55 lpcd water.

Though the Andhra Pradesh has achieved significant progress in rural areas in recent years by providing 100 per cent LPG connections to all eligible households, 100 per cent electricity for households and laying 30,500 km of internal cement concrete roads, thousands of habitations are remained unconnected.

The Chittoor district tops the list with 3,954 habitations are without road connectivity. Srikakulam stands on second with 1,778 habitations and Anantapur district at third with 1,038 habitations. The total habitations without road connectivity are 10,344.

The government has also identified that 24,783 habitations (51%) are being not provided 55 lpcd water. With 4,999 habitations, the Chittoor has stood at first. Visakhapatnam district stood at second with 3,489 habitations and Srikakulam with 2,762 habitations in 13 districts. The total habitations without being provided 55 lpcd water are 24,783 in all districts.

Taking this ground reality into consideration, the state government has set targets to provide solid waste management facility, LED street lights, BT roads and 55 lpcd water to all habitations in all Gram Panchayats.  In the present financial year, targets have been given to provide solid waste management plants to 9,765 Gram Panchayats and road connectivity to 10,344 habitations.

The government has identified that 9,765 villages in the state have to be provided solid waste management plants. The highest villages (1,034) are in Chittoor district that are needed solid waste management plants. Srikakulam and Anantapur districts are in second and third places with 973 and 871 villages respectively. It also decided to replace conventional street lights with LED lights in all Gram Panchayats.

However, around 80 per cent of households in rural areas in the state have been declared as ODF (open defecation free). The government also has focused on development of farm ponds in villages with an aim to improve ground water level. From 2014-15 to 2017-18, around 5 lakh farm ponds were dug in rural areas under Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme.