VIJAYAWADA: On Friday, Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu announced an ambitious goal of completing 1.7 million houses within three years under the Housing for All initiative and urged officials to expedite the construction process. He proposed that mass housewarming ceremonies be organized every three months, commencing from Ugadi, with an objective of conducting 500,000 housewarmings quarterly.
While reviewing the progress with TIDCO and Housing Department officials, Naidu reaffirmed the coalition government’s vow to fulfill its election promise of providing a house to every eligible family by 2029. “Since assuming power, we have initiated the construction of 2 million houses, with 300,000 already completed. The remaining 1.7 million need to be finished in the next three years,” he stated. Additional financial assistance is available for SC, ST, BC, and PVTG communities under PMAY 1.0, along with an extra ₹50,000 allocated for 18,000 beneficiaries from the Muslim minority community. Naidu also instructed officials to negotiate with the Centre to resolve pending housing bills amounting to ₹920 crore under the NTR Rural Housing Scheme, which he claimed were stalled by the previous government.
In a separate review meeting, Naidu directed agriculture and marketing officials to establish food processing units within MSME parks across all 175 constituencies to enhance farmers’ incomes through value addition. He stressed a transition from raw agricultural products to processed goods, suggesting this change would yield long-term benefits for farmers. He called for the promotion of commercial crops, natural farming, and demand-driven agriculture, alongside training farmers in mechanization, drone technology, and satellite-based advisories. Furthermore, he emphasized the need for the Farmer App to be accessible to every farmer, providing real-time data on crops, weather, pests, and market prices.
Naidu expressed his concern over the declining banana prices in Anantapur, Kadapa, and Nandyal, directing horticulture officials to provide marketing support and investigate export opportunities via waterways, rail, and air cargo. He also criticized the Cotton Corporation of India for delays in procurement and urged officials to seek immediate action from the Centre to safeguard cotton growers.
The Chief Minister underscored the importance of the upcoming “Raitanna – Meekosam” program (scheduled for Nov 24–29 and Dec 3), which aims to educate farmers on groundwater levels, reservoir conditions, and effective water management. He encouraged legislators to engage in the awareness campaign and assured farmers of the government’s commitment to technology adoption, market interventions, and income stability.
