VBG Ram G Mission launched from Andhra Pradesh

Metro India News | AMARAVATI

Andhra Pradesh became the launch pad for the nationwide rollout of the Centre’s flagship Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Rozgar Ajeevika Mission (VBG Ram G), with Union Minister for Rural Development and Agriculture Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu, and Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan jointly inaugurated the programme at Railway Koduru in Tirupati district on Thursday.

Describing the launch as a historic milestone, Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu said the mission would usher in a new era of rural transformation across the State. He noted that Andhra Pradesh would receive Rs 7,700 crore from the Centre, while the State would contribute another Rs 4,000 crore, taking the total outlay to over Rs 11,000 crore.

Calling the mission a responsibility rather than just another scheme, the Chief Minister said it would generate 125 days of employment while creating durable community assets, including rural roads, drainage systems, canals and other public infrastructure. The programme would be implemented transparently using geo-tagging and biometric authentication.

Highlighting the State’s achievements in rural development, Chandrababu said Andhra Pradesh had generated 55.44 crore person-days under employment programmes, spending Rs 16,695 crore on works such as 7,000 km of CC roads, 1.07 lakh farm ponds, 40,000 cattle shelters, tribal roads and horticulture plantations. He also announced plans to bring Galeru-Nagari project water to Koduru and improve groundwater through the Jaladhara initiative.

Union Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan announced that the Centre has earmarked Rs 7.5 lakh crore for implementing the VBG Ram G Mission across the country, with Andhra Pradesh receiving Rs 7,700 crore during the current nine-month period. He also handed over sanction letters for 74,212 houses under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana and Rs 422 crore under the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana.

In a major relief to mango growers, Chouhan announced that the Centre would procure 2.16 lakh metric tonnes of Totapuri mangoes under the Market Intervention Scheme, presenting the approval documents to the Chief Minister.

Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan unveiled the mission booklet, while Union Ministers Pemmasani Chandrasekhar and Kamlesh Paswan released the mission’s promotional song. Several Union and State ministers, legislators and senior officials attended the launch.