YS Jagan govt claims to have spent more on roads in 3.5 yrs than Chandrababu did in 5 yrs

HYDERABAD: A day after Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jaganmohan Reddy asked officials to expedite road development in the state, the state government on Tuesday released data on the work done by them in the last three and a half years for road and building construction.

According to data from 2019 to 2023, the R&B department had completed road renewal projects totaling 7,273 kilometres at a cost of Rs 3,461 crore to the government. The government had spent an average of Rs 866 crore every year on 1,818 kilometres of road renewal projects.

In comparison, the former Chandrababu Naidu regime spent Rs 2,772 crores on road renewal in a five-year period from 2014 to 2019. On average, the previous government completed only 1,334 kilometres of work per year at a cost of Rs 554 crore.

Similarly, during the YSRCP regime, the Panchayati Raj department spent Rs 3,631 crore on the building and renewal of 6,302 kilometres of roads. The state government had also begun building 4,193 km of long CC (cement concrete) highways at a cost of Rs 1,241 crore. Furthermore, building on 6,735 km was currently underway at a cost of Rs 3,769 crore. The current improvements were expected to be completed within the next year and a half. The government had repaired 5,793 kilometres of damaged BT roads worth Rs 1,326 crore to-date.

As part of executing the Navaratnalu scheme, the administration had begun the construction of village secretariats, RBKs, health clinics, BMCUs, and digital libraries to provide improved services to the people of the state. The government had spent Rs 4,248 crore on the construction of 11,709 buildings during the last three and a half years. Another Rs 3,360 crore was planned to be invested in the construction of 17,736 village secretariats, RBKs, health facilities, and digital library structures.