Naidu lays foundation for ₹11,359-crore works in 123 urban local bodies from Kuppam

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu on Tuesday (September 22, 2026) laid foundation stones for development works worth ₹11,359 crore in 123 municipalities and municipal corporations across 26 districts from Kuppam, terming it “a golden chapter in Andhra Pradesh’s municipal history”.

Addressing the programme, the Chief Minister said the State government had prepared proposals for ₹50,000 crore worth of works, including the ongoing ones, and their execution would change the State’s destiny in infrastructure and logistics.

“After battling severe hardships for two years, we could bring back governance on the development track. Now, we have launched works worth ₹11,359 crore in urban areas,” Mr. Naidu said, congratulating Municipal Administration Minister P. Narayana, Principal Secretary Suresh Kumar and Director (Municipal Administration) Sampath Kumar for steering the action plan.

Elected representatives and municipal commissioners of all 123 urban local bodies joined the launch through video conference. Mr. Narayana attended from Visakhapatnam.

Of the total, works worth ₹7,469 crore will be taken up in municipalities across the State and ₹3,890 crore in the Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation (GVMC), the Chief Minister said. “For the first time, the government is executing works under the Hybrid Annuity Model (HAM) to ensure no financial burden falls on urban local bodies,” Mr. Naidu said.

The package earmarks ₹4,656 crore for roads, ₹88 crore for central medians, ₹247 crore for street lighting and ₹509 crore for parks. In total, it will deliver 2,165 km of roads, 502 parks, 210 km of central medians, 391 km of street lighting and 300 km of sewerage network, besides a programme to store water in reservoirs.

Mr. Naidu said the TIDCO houses would be completed by 2027. “Pattas have already been distributed to 28,500 families in Visakhapatnam and the government is ready to issue pattas wherever there is no objection,” he said.

Saying towns were growth engines of the economy, the Chief Minister called for promoting the weekend economy. “People spend 61% of their income during weekends. In urban areas, 71% is spent on housing and transport. That is why we have taken up TIDCO for housing and Stree Shakti for transport,” Mr. Naidu said, adding that the Jal Jeevan Mission works, intended to provide 24×7 safe drinking water, would be completed on schedule.

Referring to the “Swachh Andhra Swarna Andhra” initiative, the Chief Minister said the government had been pursuing cleanliness drives in mission mode for the last two years. The government had cleared 143 lakh tonnes of garbage across the State, two waste-to-energy plants were functioning and four more would be completed soon, he said. “Solid waste is being cleared through recycling,” Mr. Naidu said. The Chief Minister directed elected representatives and municipal commissioners to ensure no sewage stagnates in municipalities and to work towards making every municipality a Swarna municipality by 2047.

Targeting the previous YSR Congress Party government, Mr. Naidu alleged that 120 lakh tonnes of garbage had piled up across the State during 2019-24. “Centre-sponsored schemes like the Jal Jeevan Mission were neglected, and funds were not utilised and even diverted,” he said.