Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu on Thursday (October 1, 2026) said his government was working with the responsibility of ensuring justice to the poor while simultaneously pursuing development, and said he believed a Chief Minister should be a “common man” who understood people’s problems and worked to address them.

Participating in the NTR Bharosa pensions distribution programme, he addressed a public meeting as part of the “service to the poor” initiative in Repalle in Bapatla district. Mr. Naidu said he had been taking part in the pension programme on the first of every month for the past 28 months. He said officials and elected representatives were also reaching out to people on the first day of every month.

Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu speaks to a woman at the pension distribution programme in Repalle in Bapatla district on Thursday.

Special Arrangement

He said the government was providing economic security to the poor through pensions and had so far spent ₹76,000 crore on pensions. The government, he said, was approaching poverty from a humanitarian rather than merely an economic perspective and was working to improve living standards.

Mr. Naidu said welfare and development were being pursued simultaneously. Works worth ₹50,000 crore were being taken up in urban areas and ₹11,000 crore in rural areas. He said 5.5 lakh houses had already been completed and another 5.5 lakh would be constructed soon.

He said housing-site pattas worth ₹52,000 crore had been distributed to poor people across the State. Several welfare schemes, including Stree Shakti, Thalliki Vandanam, Deepam and programmes for fishermen and auto-rickshaw drivers, were providing support to different sections.

The Chief Minister said one lakh women under the Development of Women and Children in Rural Areas (DWCRA) had been transformed into entrepreneurs and the government aimed to enable another five lakh women to become entrepreneurs. The P4 programme was also being implemented to support people at the bottom of the economic pyramid, he said.

On development, Mr. Naidu said the government had secured investments worth ₹22 lakh crore, which were expected to generate 20 lakh jobs. Capital expenditure was being increased to create wealth, and roads, railways, ports and airports were being developed.

Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu with students, some holding placards bearing his portrait and the words ‘Gen Z’, at the pension distribution programme in Repalle in Bapatla district on Thursday.

Special Arrangement

He said the first phase of the Handri-Neeva project had been completed and water taken up to Kuppam, and the first phase of the Veligonda project had brought Krishna water up to Markapuram.

Mr. Naidu said the government proposed to complete 36 projects at a cost of ₹35,000 crore over the next three years. He said ₹1 lakh crore would be invested in developing 10 districts, including Prakasam, and Rayalaseema was being developed as a global horticulture hub.

He said Surya Lanka beach in Bapatla would be developed as a major tourist destination, with the aim of making it a landmark on the national tourism map.

Revenue Minister Anagani Satya Prasad, Bapatla district Collector V. Vinod Kumar and other officials, public representatives and leaders participated in the programme.