VIJAYAWADA: In a major push toward climate-resilient infrastructure, the State Government has accorded in-principle approval for a Rs 750-crore project to transform the temple town of Tirupati into a “City of Lakes and Tanks.”
The mega project, titled “Climate Resilient Integrated Water Management in Tirupati Urban Development Area,” aims to completely restore the city’s historic, interconnected water networks to permanently mitigate urban flooding and boost groundwater recharge.
The blueprint aligns with Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu’s vision to build Tirupati into a national model for sustainable urban design, drawing critical lessons from the devastating floods that submerged parts of the city and its surrounding areas in November 2021.
The financial framework of the Rs 750-crore project is split into three equal strategic allocations of Rs 250 crore each. The first tranche of Rs 250 crore is earmarked strictly for water body rejuvenation and interlinking, which includes desilting, deepening, and strengthening the bunds and channels of around 25 lakes.
The second component of Rs 250 crore will fund integrated stormwater management to overhaul and expand the drainage grid across the Tirupati Municipal Corporation and its peri-urban fringes.
The remaining Rs 250 crore has been set aside for contingencies, land-related costs, detailed project reports (DPRs), and advanced hydrological modelling studies. To bankroll the initiative, the State government is processing a concessional external loan of approximately Rs 500 crore, equivalent to 50 million Euros, from the KfW Development Bank of Germany under the Centre’s Externally Aided Project framework.
The spatial execution of the project will focus heavily on creating “blue-green” infrastructure, incorporating nature-based drainage solutions, rainwater harvesting networks, and modern sustainable urban design principles.
A primary focus has been locked on the Avilala Tank, which Chief Minister Naidu has directed officials to remodel on the lines of Hyderabad’s iconic Tank Bund to create improved public spaces for local citizens and pilgrims. Principal Secretary for Municipal Administration and Urban Development, S Suresh Kumar, clarified that the current sanction is explicitly for project formulation, technical processing, and asset appraisal, with all final approvals subject to rigorous environmental, social, and debt-servicing evaluations.