Amaravati, Dec 9 (IANS) Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Tuesday directed officials to prepare proposals for projects worth Rs 40,000 crore under the Purvodaya scheme of the Central government.

The Chief Minister said Rs 20,000 crore should be allotted to irrigation projects and the remaining Rs 20,000 crore for infrastructure projects.

The Chief Minister conducted a review meeting at the Secretariat on the utilisation of Purvodaya scheme funds.

He wanted officials to prepare proposals for the development of all three regions of the state using the funds allocated under the scheme.

The Chief Minister said priority should be given to irrigation projects, horticulture crops and infrastructure such as rural roads.

He instructed officials to develop 82 clusters in Prakasam and Rayalaseema districts as horticulture hubs and undertake initiatives enabling the expansion of horticulture crops across 20 lakh acres.

Purvodaya scheme is for the all-round development of the eastern region covering Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Odisha and Andhra Pradesh.

Chandrababu Naidu said Rs 5,000 crore should be spent on developing rural roads and establishing connectivity with national and state highways. In addition, the CM instructed the completion of 23 major and medium irrigation projects in Prakasam and Rayalaseema to ensure an assured water supply for horticulture.

When the officials informed the Chief Minister that the proposed Polavaram-Nallamala Sagar project with an estimated cost of Rs 58,700 crore would enable irrigation facility for an additional 7 lakh acres in Nellore and Prakasam districts, stabilise irrigation for another 6 lakh acres and provide drinking water to 60 lakh people, the Chief Minister directed them to work on these projects to be initiated at the earliest.

The Chief Minister instructed officials to prepare plans to divert 200 TMC of Godavari floodwaters from the Polavaram project to Bollapalli and Nallamala Sagar and to explore the supply of 50 TMC of Krishna floodwaters from Nagarjuna Sagar to Bollapalli.

The Chief Minister noted that the Uttarandhra region is highly suitable for oil palm and other horticulture crops and emphasised the promotion of natural and organic farming in the agency districts of Uttarandhra.

He instructed the officials on the implementation of the Rs 169 crore project to interlink the Vamsadhara-Nagavali and Champavathi rivers. By connecting the Hiramandalam reservoir with Narayanapuram anicut, water can be provided to an additional 5,000 acres.

Finance Minister Payyavula Keshav, Water Resources Minister Nimmala Rama Naidu and officials participated in the meeting.

–IANS

ms/dan