Vijayawada: Municipala dministration and urban development minister Ponguru Narayana on Friday announced that every household in Andhra Pradesh will receive clean drinking water within the next three years. He was speaking as the chief guest at the oath-taking ceremony of the new directors of Swachh Andhra Corporation, held at Tummalapalli Kshetrayya Kalakshetram here.

Minister Narayana said that building a ‘Swachh Andhra’ requires collective responsibility. “If every individual keeps their home and surroundings clean, the entire state will remain clean,” he added.

He noted that Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu is making continuous efforts to provide 18 essential civic services, including drinking water, waste management, streetlights, and roads, across all corporations, municipalities, and panchayats. Despite the burden of repaying debts left behind by the previous YSRCP government, he said, the state under Naidu’s visionary leadership has been able to deliver good governance.

Referring to the progress achieved by the Swachh Andhra initiative launched on October 2 last year, Narayana said that out of 85 lakh tonne legacy waste left by the previous regime, 81 lakh tonne had already been cleared, and the remaining will be removed by October 2 this year.

He added that advancedwaste management practices from countries like Japan, Russia, and China were being adopted in Andhra Pradesh, including converting waste into electricity through processing plants instead of landfills. The minister also announced that tenders for the AMRUT scheme would be floated soon and urged the new directors to focus on waste-to-wealth initiatives.

Swachh Andhra Corporation chairman Kommareddy Pattabhiram said that while the previous government even imposed a tax on garbage, the present coalition government removed it, proving its commitment to serving the people.

He credited Chief Minister’s vision and minister Narayana’s efforts for placing five Andhra cities among the top cleanest in India, bringing national recognition to the state.

MLA Venkataraju praised Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu’s vision and urged people to embrace cleanliness as part of daily life. Swachh Andhra MD Anil Kumar Reddy said the state is giving top priority to cleanliness, aligning with the central government’s ‘Swachhata hi Seva’ campaign being observed from September 17 to October 2, culminating in Swachh Bharat Diwas.

Fourteen newly-appointed directors of Swachh Andhra Corporation took oath and were felicitated with shawls and mementoes.