‘People want to return to their villages’

Vijayawada: The state government had laid 18,857-km cement concrete (CC) roads across Andhra Pradesh till date since 2014, said additional commissioner for Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNERGA) G Balasubramanyam. 

Balasubramanyam said in a statement here on Tuesday that since most of the interior villages in the state were connected to the cities now under the NREGA, a number of people with village background staying in cities are preferring to go back to villages after retirement.

This has been possible due to the initiative taken by Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu to develop villages as tourist spots with the support of technology and protect the culture and traditions, he added. 

The additional commissioner said that  5,60,654 farm ponds had been dug to protect crops during drought conditions, 5,092 anganwadi centres, 1,906 village panchayat buildings were built and saplings have been planted on the road side for a distance of 20,120 km.

The state government has renovated 48,519 check dams, 1,948 solid waste energy plants have been built and 283 playgrounds were developed by the state government so far since 2014, he added.  

He said that the state government spent Rs 23,141.35 crore, including material cost and wages of NREGA workers. The state government has been transforming the face of villages by providing internet connectivity at Rs 149 per month under the AP Fiber Grid Project and is encouraging farmers towards Zero-Budget Natural Farming method (organic farming) to protect farm lands, health of people and reducing losses.

He said that Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu assured the handloom workers during Grama Darsini programme to market their products online through e-commerce platform to strengthen their brand image.