Vijayawada: Municipal administration and urban development minister P Narayana said the state government is determined to provide safe drinking water to households across all municipalities.

Addressing the media after a review meeting chaired by Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu at CM camp office on Saturday, the minister stated that tenders have been invited for laying drinking water pipelines to cover 85 per cent of households, with support from the AMRUT scheme. He said Rs 5,350 crore, sanctioned by the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, will be used for completing both drinking water and drainage projects.

Blaming the previous YSRCP government for lapses in securing Central funds due to failure in releasing the state’s share, Narayana stressed the new government’s commitment to infrastructure development.

On the solid waste issue, the minister said Andhra Pradesh generates 8,000 tonnes of waste daily. While waste-to-energy plants are already operational in Guntur and Visakhapatnam, six new plants are planned in Rajahmundry, Nellore, Kadapa, Kurnool, Vijayawada, and Tirupati. Once operational, they can convert up to 7,500 tonnes of garbage into power. An allocation of Rs 225 crore has been made for new garbage clearing equipment. He also said the government is working to distribute TIDCO houses by clearing Rs 140 crore in pending bank loans for the beneficiaries.