VELIVENNU (WEST GODAVARI DIST): As many as 12,918 villages will be developed as smart villages in the state in five years, Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu has said.
The chief minister, who launched the Smart Village programme at Velivennu village of Undrajavaram mandal in West Godavari district on Sunday, said 20 years of development can be achieved in five years with the Smart Village programme.
Later, he participated in a 18-km padayatra touching Settipalem, Tallapalem, Singavaram, Nidadavolu, Chagallu and Brahmanagudem, as a part of the Smart Village programme.
During the padayatra, the chief minister interacted with people and enquired about their problems and promised to solve them.
Addressing a gathering, he said the padayatra was aimed at creating awareness among people about smart villages. As many as 20 parameters were selected to remove inequalities in the villages, he said, adding that the Smart Village programme helps improve the living standards of people.
Gift packs were given to white ration card holders in connection with Sankranti festival and pension amounts increased five times, he said.
Indira Sagar Project (ISP) at Polavaram has got national project status and NTR Sujala Sravanthi scheme was launched to supply drinking water at low cost to the people, he said.
Polavaram project will be completed with the help of prime minister Narendra Modi before 2019 elections, he added. Plans are afoot to divert Errakalva water to the right canal of ISP, he said.