The Andhra Pradesh Cabinet on Thursday announced the cancellation of tenders for 44,195 works under the Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) valued at Rs 11,401 crore. These projects were initiated during the tenure of the previous YSRCP government.
Addressing the press at the Secretariat, Information and Public Relations Minister K Parthasarathy stated that the decision was taken due to inefficiencies in project execution. "The tenders for these works will be cancelled, and fresh tenders will be invited. Additionally, 33,717 projects at various stages of completion have been approved, with definitive timelines set for their completion," the Minister said, as per a report on PTI.
The Jal Jeevan Mission, a central initiative, aims to provide safe drinking water to rural households through individual tap connections by 2024. The minister added that 33,717 ongoing projects under JJM had been approved with definitive timelines for completion.
Projects in water-scarce areas such as Pulivendula, Dhone, and Uddanam will continue without interruption. Parthasarathy criticised the previous YS Jagan Mohan Reddy-led government for underutilising funds. "While other states secured funding of up to Rs 1.5 lakh crore, the YSRCP administration managed only Rs 26,824 crore, of which just Rs 4,000 crore was utilised. This deprived millions of safe drinking water," he alleged.
The Cabinet also decided to review and redesign poorly planned JJM projects to better address public needs and ensure sustainable water resources.
In addition to JJM, the Cabinet approved the Capital Region Development Authority (CRDA) to utilize Rs 33,138 crore for infrastructure development in Amaravati. This includes the construction of quarters for IAS and gazetted officers.
To fund Amaravati’s development, CRDA will secure loans from the World Bank, Asian Development Bank (ADB), HUDCO (Rs 11,000 crore), and the German development bank KfW (Rs 5,000 crore). The government aims to complete Amaravati's construction within three years.