VIJAYAWADA: Stating that nearly 22,000 km of roads were made pothole-free in a fast-track manner over the past six months, Roads and Buildings Minister BC Janardhan Reddy said that the government invested around Rs 1,600 crore for this purpose.
Despite this progress, he said several stretches in Guntur, Krishna, East and West Godavari and the North Andhra region remain in poor condition due to black soil and heavy rains. To fix these roads, the government has now taken up an additional Rs 3,000 crore worth of works. Tenders have already been called and estimates prepared through field inspections.
Speaking to mediapersons at the TDP headquarters on Thursday, he said Rs 1,000 crore has already been sanctioned under the plan budget and another Rs 1,000 crore is in tender processing. A further Rs 500 crore and Rs 277 crore have been approved through GOs, taking up the total to Rs 3,000 crore exclusively for renewal works on 14,983 kilometers of C-category roads.
The Minister added that improved infrastructure is essential to attract future investment. Alongside government-funded works, the state has also identified 175 roads covering 539 kilometers for development under the PPP model. Feasibility reports have been submitted and tenders will soon be invited.
Taking a dig at the previous YSRCP government, the Minister said that the coalition government has been forced to shoulder a burden of nearly Rs 20,000 crore because the previous government ignored repairs and maintenance across the state.
He explained that any road requires renewal work every five years and potholes should be fixed immediately. Instead, the earlier government left roads to deteriorate so badly that more than 15,000 kilometers became unfit for simple repair.
Asserting that the responsibility of any new government is to complete already approved projects, he said the previous administration stopped key works like the Anantapur Expressway and Amaravati Ring Road.