Chittoor Water Project: ₹2,370 Crore Mega Scheme to Benefit 25 Lakh People

The Chittoor Multi-Village Drinking Water Supply Project, taken up at a cost of ₹2,370 crore to provide a permanent solution to drinking water shortages in the western parts of the erstwhile Chittoor district, is progressing at a brisk pace. The project is being implemented under the special supervision of Deputy Chief Minister and Rural Water Supply Minister Pawan Kalyan, with officials working towards completing the major works within the stipulated timeline.

Funded under the Jal Jeevan Mission–Amarajeevi Jaladhara, the project will supply drinking water to 3,163 habitations across 18 mandals in three Assembly constituencies. Nearly 25 lakh people are expected to benefit from the scheme, which is aimed at providing a sustainable solution to recurring water shortages in the region.

The Gandikota and Veligallu reservoirs have been identified as the project's water sources. Construction of an intake well at Gandikota is underway, while work on three of the four raw water sumps is progressing rapidly. Water treatment plants are also being constructed at Gurramkonda and Veligallu. The Gurramkonda facility will have a capacity of 75 million litres per day (MLD), while the Veligallu plant will process 26 MLD.

As many as 167 works are currently at different stages of execution. The project includes seven water sumps, five overhead tanks and 14 ground-level balancing reservoirs, besides other supporting infrastructure. Around 130 km of pipeline has already been laid, indicating steady progress on the distribution network.

Pawan Kalyan has instructed officials to accelerate execution by fixing weekly and monthly targets and conducting regular reviews. He directed authorities to ensure that works planned for completion by the end of the year are finished on schedule and brought into public use without delay. He also stressed that there should be no compromise on construction quality, as the infrastructure is intended to serve people over the long term.

The state government said the coalition administration persuaded the Centre to extend the Jal Jeevan Mission deadline to 2028. Under Jal Jeevan Mission 2.0, drinking water projects worth around ₹26,000 crore are being undertaken across Andhra Pradesh. In the first phase, five mega water grid projects are being implemented in five districts at a total cost of ₹7,910 crore, with Chittoor among them.