The Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) is India’s flagship rural road connectivity programme, designed to link every habitation with a population above a threshold to an all-weather road. For the financial year 2026-27, the Union Government has allocated a total of ₹7,17,191 crore to all states under this programme
Andhra Pradesh’s share is ₹250 crore i.e 1.4% of the national allocation for a state that accounts for a far larger share of India’s rural population, agricultural land, and connectivity deficit. While every other state receives allocations commensurate with its requirements, Andhra Pradesh, under the Chandrababu Naidu government has been reduced to a 1.4% footnote in India’s rural road development programme.
Under PMGSY, the Centre provides 60% of the funding as grant and the state must provide 40%. This means that even this inadequate ₹250 crore central allocation requires Andhra Pradesh to contribute ₹166 crore from its own budget — a budget already stretched to breaking point by ₹523 crore of daily borrowing and thousands of crores in Amaravati construction commitments
The central government’s PM Jan Man programme, designed specifically for tribal and remote area road connectivity, has allocated an additional ₹140 crore for road construction in the tribal areas of Andhra Pradesh. Separately, under the RCPLWEA programme for Naxal-affected districts, ₹90 crore has been allocated for new road construction in affected areas.
Together, these three central allocations PMGSY ₹250 crore, PM Jan Man ₹140 crore, RCPLWEA ₹90 crore — total ₹480 crore in central funds available for rural road construction in Andhra Pradesh.
The Road Construction Collapse: Numbers That Cannot Be Spun
The data on road construction across administrations tells a story of systematic decline that the TDP government’s press releases cannot obscure.
Under YS Jagan Mohan Reddy’s YSRCP government:
- Between 2019 and 2024 (March), a total of 2,701 kilometres of new roads were constructed in Andhra Pradesh under the PMGSY programme
- During the peak construction years of 2019-24, the pace averaged well above 500 kilometres per year
Under Chandrababu Naidu’s TDP government:
- During 2024-26 two full years of TDP governance, only 871 kilometres of roads were completed
The comparative record by Chief Ministership:
- 2021-22 (Jagan): 1,282 km of rural roads constructed
- 2022-23 (Jagan): 1,050 km constructed
- 2023-24 (Jagan): 369 km constructed
- 2024-25 (Chandrababu): 387 km constructed
- 2025-26 (Chandrababu): 484 km constructed
The YSRCP years of 2021-22 and 2022-23 delivered road construction at a pace of over 1,000 kilometres per year. The TDP years have not approached that level.
The comparison with YSRCP’s road construction record is not merely political point-scoring. It is evidence of what is possible when a state government prioritises rural connectivity and maintains an effective working relationship with central programme frameworks.
Under Jagan, 2,701 kilometres of new roads were completed in five years through PMGSY — an average of 540 kilometres per year. In peak years (2021-22 and 2022-23), the pace exceeded 1,000 kilometres annually. The central allocation flowed commensurate with this demonstrated absorption capacity.
Under TDP, the pace has dropped to 387-484 kilometres per year. The central allocation has been reduced to 1.4% of the national total. The programme that should be connecting Andhra Pradesh’s villages is operating at a fraction of its potential.
