Union Rural Development Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Sunday said the Union government would sanction another six lakh houses for Andhra Pradesh, in addition to the three lakh houses currently being taken up under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana-Gramin (PMAY-G) 2.0.

Addressing a public meeting at Burripalem in Tenali mandal after laying the foundation for the construction of three lakh houses in the State, Mr. Chouhan said another three lakh houses would be sanctioned by the time the ongoing construction was completed and an additional three lakh houses would also be allocated to Andhra Pradesh.

The Union government would extend full support to the development of Andhra Pradesh, he said.

Hails Naidu’s leadership

Praising Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu, Mr. Chouhan said the State was emerging as a leading State in the country under his leadership and described Mr. Naidu as a visionary and dynamic leader.

“Under Mr. Chandrababu Naidu’s leadership, Andhra Pradesh has become a shining, advanced and achieving State,” he said.

Mr. Chouhan said the Centre was providing ₹6,000 a year to farmers and the State government was adding another ₹14,000 under the Annadata Sukhibhava scheme, taking the total annual assistance to ₹20,000. He said the State government was working with the objective of making the benefits of welfare schemes reach every section of society.

Referring to rural infrastructure, he said villages could utilise the Viksit Bharat–Gramin Yojana (VBG-Ramji Yojana) for developing basic infrastructure such as drains, roads and drinking water facilities. He promised that the Centre would extend full cooperation to Andhra Pradesh in this regard.

Mr. Chouhan said Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu’s governments were working towards the comprehensive, 360-degree development of Andhra Pradesh. He criticised the Congress for bifurcating Andhra Pradesh without ensuring a capital and alleged that the State had subsequently been left without adequate support. The NDA governments at the Centre and in the State were now taking Andhra Pradesh forward on the path of development, he said.

Earlier, Mr. Chouhan and Mr. Naidu laid the foundation for three lakh houses under PMAY-G 2.0. They also launched a pilot project for government-led 3D concrete-printed houses, described it as the first such initiative in the country. A total of 177 houses using 3D concrete printing technology will be constructed at Burripalem and Obulanayudupalem under the pilot project.

Amaravati’s tech potential

He said he had visited Amaravati and was impressed by its development plans. Amaravati, he said, had the potential to emerge as a major centre for advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence, data centres and quantum computing.

Stating that he was impressed by the scale of development planned for Amaravati and by Mr. Naidu’s interaction with people, he expressed confidence that Andhra Pradesh would emerge as the number one State in the country under Mr. Naidu’s leadership.