VIJAYAWADA: Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu has directed officials to ensure that all roads in the State are made pothole-free by the end of December.
In a teleconference with Roads & Buildings (R&B) Minister BC Janardhan Reddy, Special Chief Secretary MT Krishna Babu, and senior officials, the Chief Minister reviewed the progress of road development and repair works.
He instructed the Minister and the Secretary to personally inspect the works and warned contractors who have not yet started projects that strict action would be taken against them.
The Chief Minister stressed that quality standards must not be compromised and urged the use of advanced technologies and innovative materials in road construction.
He noted that the coalition government has prioritised road infrastructure since coming to power, allocating significant funds for its improvement.
Last year, under the Mission Pothole-Free initiative, Rs 861 crore was spent on repairing roads. For the current year, administrative approvals have been granted for works worth Rs 2,500 crore covering 5,471 km of roads.
This includes Rs 400 crore from NABARD funds for 191 works across 1,250 km of district roads, and Rs 600 crore under capital expenditure for 227 works covering 1,450 km. Another Rs 1,000 crore has been sanctioned for 274 works covering 2,104 km, with contractors expected to begin execution in early December.
In addition, proposals worth Rs 277 crore for 607 km of roads and Rs 233 crore for further development have received financial clearance. Emergency repairs worth Rs 500 crore have also been proposed for 9,101 km, including 4,794 km damaged by Cyclone Montha.
The government inherited nearly Rs 4,000 crore in unpaid contractor bills from the previous regime.
So far, Rs 1,900 crore has been cleared, with plans to release payments monthly to restore contractor confidence.
Minister Janardhan Reddy and Special Chief Secretary Krishna Babu have been holding regular review meetings with contractors and officials in Vijayawada, Visakhapatnam, and Puttaparthi to monitor progress.
The CM made it clear that all sanctioned works must be completed by December-end.