CM Naidu disburses Rs 300 cr to Veligonda project evacuees; launches Sanjeevani health programme
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu disbursed ₹300 crore to Veligonda project evacuees, promising phase-one water by July 31. Naidu also announced a July launch for the Talliki Vandanam scheme and an August rollout for Sanjeevani digital health cards
Yerragondapalem (Andhra Pradesh): Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Saturday disbursed Rs 300 crore to families displaced by the Veligonda project in Prakasam district.
As many as 2,351 evacuee families will benefit from the disbursement.
“Today, we are crediting Rs 300 crore to 2,351 evacuees. Rehabilitation and Resettlement (R&R) funds are being provided to evacuees from Kalanutala, Sunkesula, Chintalamudipi, Katamraju Tanda and Sairam Nagar,” Naidu said while addressing the beneficiaries.
Acknowledging the sacrifice made by the evacuees, the CM said nearly 4.5 lakh acres would be brought under irrigation, and 23 lakh people would receive drinking water.
He said water from the first phase of the Veligonda project would be supplied by July 31, adding that it would irrigate 1.19 lakh acres and meet the drinking water needs of four lakh people.
Under the second phase, Naidu said 3.2 lakh acres would be irrigated, and 11.2 lakh people would receive drinking water.
Describing the Veligonda project as “historic”, the CM said the farmers who sacrificed their land would have “better lives”.
According to current estimates, the Veligonda project would require Rs 10,580 crore, of which Rs 6,736 crore has already been spent, Naidu said.
The CM said another Rs 3,844 crore needs to be spent on the project.
Naidu said that since coming to power in 2024, the TDP-led NDA government had spent Rs 759 crore and sanctioned Rs 905 crore for the evacuees.
Of this amount, Rs 300 crore was released on Saturday, he said.
The Veligonda project is of immense importance to the districts of Prakasam, Nellore and Kadapa. Once completed, it will provide irrigation and drinking water to lakhs of people across 30 mandals in the four districts and offer a “permanent solution to the decades-old fluoride problem in the region,” he said.
Naidu accused the erstwhile YSRCP government of being responsible for the state’s current financial woes, alleging that it had “devastated the state’s finances.”
Later, Naidu addressed a public meeting on the Sanjeevani programme at KS Palem, where he announced that Talliki Vandanam—a welfare scheme offering Rs 15,000 per school-going child annually—would be implemented in July.
On Sanjeevani, a digital health record programme, the CM said it was being implemented to extend comprehensive health services to people.
“We will protect everybody’s health in the state through Sanjeevani. Sanjeevani is a comprehensive digital health platform. We will implement predictive, preventive and curative plans through Sanjeevani,” Naidu said.
From Primary Health Centres to district hospitals and super speciality services, the entire health system has been synced to one digital platform, he said.
From August 15, Naidu said Sanjeevani would be implemented across the state, offering appointment booking, health follow-up and virtual consultation services.
Through Sanjeevani cards, digital health records would be monitored at all times, the CM said, adding that 2.6 crore people had already been screened for non-communicable diseases.
He said district, state and village disease profiles would be analysed.
The TDP supremo said an app had been created to discourage indiscriminate use of fertilisers and pesticides, and underlined that there was no shortage of urea in the state.
Recalling that China had rejected chilli consignments from Andhra Pradesh, Naidu called for embracing natural farming and exporting such products, saying the state was leading the country in natural farming with 20 lakh acres adopting the method.
Dwelling on family size, Naidu said the government was considering rewarding families with more children.
He said smaller families ran counter to India’s cultural ethos, which called for recognition of joint families as the foundation of true happiness, and urged young people to equip themselves with futuristic technologies such as artificial intelligence and quantum computing.
Attacking the YSRCP, Naidu accused the opposition party of initially agreeing to Amaravati but later “gambling” with it.
Even after Amaravati had been enshrined in law as the capital of Andhra Pradesh, he castigated the YSRCP for propounding MAVIGUN as the capital, referring to former Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy’s proposal to designate the Machilipatnam, Vijayawada and Guntur region as the capital area.
Noting that river inflows had reduced due to El Nino, the CM called for frugal use of water resources.
Referring to Gade Sai Krishna’s custodial death in Vijayawada, Naidu claimed that Jana Sena chief and Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan was being “targeted” on caste lines over the incident.
Naidu alleged that YSRCP leaders had visited Amaravati on Saturday to plot and provoke aggrieved farmers.
He claimed they had gone to the Greenfield capital to obstruct its construction, but asserted that farmers had “blocked” them.
