Pawan Kalyan seeks Centre’s support for Clean Godavari Mission

Andhra Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan sought central support for a Clean Godavari Mission ahead of next year’s Pushkarams. He also discussed pollution control, wildlife conservation, rural development projects and infrastructure improvements during meetings with three Union Ministers

New Delhi: Pawan Kalyan pushes for ‘Clean Godavari’ Mission, seeks Centre’s support for Pushkarams

Andhra Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan on Tuesday met three Union Ministers to press for central support on a range of issues, chief among them a dedicated clean-up mission for the Godavari River modelled on the Namami Gange programme.

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With the Godavari Pushkarams, one of the largest religious gatherings in the country, scheduled for next year, Kalyan urged Union Minister for Jal Shakti C R Patil to launch a ‘Clean Godavari’ initiative under the theme “Swachh Godavari – Pavitra Pushkaralu”.

He flagged pollution hotspots along the river, the unchecked discharge of untreated sewage and the need for more water treatment plants in riverine municipalities.

Patil, he said, assured full central cooperation.

“Crores of people from across the country will visit for the Pushkarams. The government aims to showcase the greatness of the Godavari while ensuring it remains pristine,” Kalyan told reporters after the meeting.

He also sought crowd management support, drawing on the model deployed during the Maha Kumbh in Prayagraj and in Varanasi.

In a separate meeting with Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav, Kalyan secured an assurance that members of the Central Pollution Control Board would be dispatched to study pollution levels along the Godavari.

The two also discussed eight other issues concerning the state’s forest department, including the construction of a new ‘Aranyaramam’ Common Facility Centre, the expansion of base camps in the Nagarjuna Sagar and Srisailam Tiger Reserves from 90 to 150, and funding for the state’s 1,050-km ‘Great Green Wall’ coastal plantation drive, for which central approval under the MISHTI scheme has already been granted.

On wildlife, Kalyan said Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had agreed to provide four female tigers to address the imbalance caused by a declining female tiger population in the state, with two more to come from Madhya Pradesh.

He added that Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav had agreed to send 50 Indian gaur, wild bison that had previously gone extinct in Andhra Pradesh, in September or October.

Odisha, he said, had also responded favourably to a request for trained Kumki elephants to manage human-wildlife conflict in Parvathipuram Manyam district.

Earlier in the day, Kalyan met Union Rural Development Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and thanked him for allocating the third-highest quantum of funds in the country to Andhra Pradesh under the Viksit Bharat–Gram Gaurav (VB-GRAMG) programme.

He said 260 model panchayats were being developed in preparation for the Pushkarams, with improved drainage, sewage treatment and sanitation infrastructure.

Kalyan said Chouhan was particularly impressed by Andhra Pradesh’s ‘Magic Drains’ initiative in Pedapenki village and expressed interest in replicating the model in his constituency in Madhya Pradesh.

The state has also been chosen to host the inaugural National Gram Vikas Sammelan on July 1, 2026.