Rs.2,370-crore water project gains pace in western Chittoor

Metro India News | AMARAVATI

The ambitious Rs.2,370-crore Chittoor Multi-Village Drinking Water Supply Project is progressing rapidly, with Deputy Chief Minister and Rural Water Supply Minister Pawan Kalyan directing officials to set weekly targets and complete the works within the stipulated deadline. The project, being implemented under the Jal Jeevan Mission–Amarajeevi Jaldhara, aims to provide permanent drinking water security to nearly 25 lakh people across 18 mandals and 3,163 habitations in the western region of the erstwhile Chittoor district.

Reviewing the project’s progress, Pawan Kalyan instructed officials to divide the year-end completion target into monthly and weekly milestones and regularly monitor the works. He also reviewed the permissions required from various departments for construction and pipeline works. The project will use Gandikota and Veligallu reservoirs as water sources and is intended to provide a long-term solution to drinking water scarcity in the region. The Deputy CM said the works should be executed with strict quality standards to ensure that the infrastructure serves people for decades.

Construction of an intake well at Gandikota is progressing, while three of the four proposed raw-water sumps are under construction. A 75-million-litre-per-day water treatment plant at Gurramkonda and a 26-million-litre-per-day facility at Veligallu are also being developed. Seven water sumps, five overhead tanks and 14 ground-level balancing reservoirs are among 167 works being taken up at different stages. Around 130 km of pipeline construction has already been completed.

Pawan Kalyan said the project was part of the State’s broader effort to advance Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of ensuring safe drinking water to every household. The coalition government, he said, had secured an extension of the Jal Jeevan Mission from 2024 to 2028 and was taking forward drinking-water projects worth nearly Rs.26,000 crore under JJM 2.0. The Chittoor project is among five mega water-grid schemes being implemented across five districts as part of the first phase, involving Rs.7,910 crore.