Naidu Launches Jal Jeevan Mission 2.0: ₹30,156 Crore for Drinking Water to 90 Lakh Homes

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu on Monday, October 5, 2026, announced that the State would spend ₹30,156 crore over the next two years under Jal Jeevan Mission 2.0, a programme it has named 'Amarajeevi Jaladhara', to provide drinking water to 90 lakh households.

Mr. Naidu inaugurated the scheme at Proddatur in Kadapa district along with Deputy Chief Minister K. Pawan Kalyan. A pylon was unveiled at Kothapalli village, along with 13 foundation plaques for works intended to supply drinking water to Chittoor, Tirupati and Annamayya districts. Both leaders later addressed a public meeting.

The Jal Jeevan Mission is a centrally sponsored programme launched in 2019 with the objective of providing functional household tap connections in rural areas. States implement it through their own schemes with a share of funding from the Centre. Monday's announcement covers the State's second phase.

Mr. Naidu said nine schemes had been launched in Andhra Pradesh in the past seven days. They include Palle Panduga 3.0, aimed at developing rural roads and drains at a cost of ₹11,085 crore; the distribution of house site pattas valued at ₹52,000 crore; the 'Global Horticulture Hub - Rayalaseema Rising' project, estimated at ₹1 lakh crore; and the construction of 19 lakh houses. He said the government had laid a strong foundation with the support of the Centre, which he said would help the funds-starved State recover.

Recalling his stated resolve to end Naxalism in the State, he referred to the claymore mine attack on his life in Tirupati in 2003, which he survived. He urged people to work for the next 20 years so that Andhra Pradesh could lead the country's growth story.

Mr. Pawan Kalyan said the National Democratic Alliance government was committed to taking development to all people, irrespective of their political preferences. He cited projects taken up in Paderu and Araku, constituencies represented in Parliament by members of the YSR Congress Party (YSRCP), as evidence that decisions were not driven by vote considerations. "We also do not believe in witch hunting or political vendetta," he said, adding that the government had not sought to retaliate despite having faced attacks in the past.

Allegations against the YSRCP

At the same meeting, Mr. Naidu challenged YSRCP president and former Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy to face him "with facts". Referring to the YSRCP as the "Axe party", he called Mr. Jagan Mohan Reddy the "ultimate beneficiary" in the murder of Y.S. Vivekananda Reddy and in the Andhra Pradesh Public Service Commission recruitment scam and the liquor and sand scams.

"₹40 crore was paid as 'supari' for the uncle's murder. Crores were swindled in the liquor and sand scams. Attenders and electricians were employed to correct answer sheets in the Group I examinations. All the accusing fingers point towards one person, who is the ultimate beneficiary," he said.

These are allegations. Mr. Naidu did not place documentary evidence in support of them at the meeting, and no court has recorded findings of guilt in the matters he cited.

Mr. Naidu further alleged that the YSRCP depended on "betrayal, violence and concocted narratives" for its survival rather than on any ideological framework, and accused it of spreading what he called fake narratives to project the government in a bad light. He also alleged, without giving details, that the previous government had played a role in forced religious conversions.

The implementation of the water supply scheme, and whether it meets its two-year target, is likely to be among the measures by which the government's performance is assessed. The outcome will depend on pipeline infrastructure, reliable water sources and arrangements for maintaining supply in the villages covered.