Andhra Pradesh will launch Palle Panduga 3.0 on September 29, with the state government planning rural development works worth ₹11,085 crore across the State, Nellore district collector Himanshu Shukla said. The programme will be formally launched by Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu and Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan at Ramapuram village in Varikuntapadu mandal of Udayagiri constituency.
The programme focuses on rural infrastructure as well as agriculture, dairy and horticulture. Its largest components are the construction of 6,000 km of cement concrete roads at a cost of ₹2,700 crore and 9,500 km of bitumen roads at ₹7,550 crore.
The plan also includes 22,000 mini Gokulams, or cattle sheds, with an allocation of ₹300 crore. Horticulture plantations will be taken up across 50,000 acres at a cost of ₹225 crore, while 1,000 km of magic drains will be built with an allocation of ₹110 crore. Bus shelters, gram panchayat buildings and community spaces account for another ₹200 crore.
According to the collector, ₹5,391 crore of the total allocation will come from the Centre and ₹5,694 crore from the State. Additional funding will be mobilised through VB-G RAM G, the Global Horticulture Hub, NABARD, SASKI and other sources.
The scale of the road component makes Palle Panduga 3.0 primarily an access and connectivity programme for rural settlements. The proposed works cover both internal village infrastructure through cement concrete roads and wider rural links through bitumen roads. The programme also combines physical connectivity with drainage, public buildings and community facilities.
The government has presented the new phase as a continuation of earlier Palle Panduga programmes. Palle Panduga 1.0 resulted in 4,000 km of cement concrete roads, 22,514 cattle sheds, 21,000 farm ponds and horticulture plantations across 64,000 acres, according to Shukla.
Under Palle Panduga 2.0, the works included 2,500 km of cement concrete roads, 8,300 km of bitumen roads, 15,750 cattle sheds, 15,500 cattle water troughs, 86,000 farm ponds, 82,000 individual soak pits and 32 km of magic drains.
The third phase therefore extends an existing rural works framework while increasing the announced road and drainage targets. Its stated objectives include improving rural amenities and supporting farming, dairy and horticulture activities. The programme’s implementation will draw on both central and state allocations, along with funds mobilised through the listed institutional and sectoral sources.
The formal launch at Ramapuram village on September 29 will mark the next official milestone for the programme. Further implementation details are expected to follow through the state government’s rollout of the announced works across Andhra Pradesh.
