Though the BJP-led NDA government at the Centre ignored the interests of Andhra Pradesh by denying it both special package and Special Category Status (SCS), the vision of Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu put the State on the road to progress, said Minister for Panchayat Raj N. Lokesh on Sunday.
Addressing a public meeting organised as part of the Janmbahoomi - Maa Vooru programme at Pichatur mandal headquarters of Satyavedu Assembly constituency, Mr. Lokesh said the unscientific bifurcation of the State threw Andhra Pradesh into a mire of difficulties and financial stringency. Undeterred by the deficit budget, the State government had been successfully implementing a plethora of welfare schemes, he added.
Polavaram works
“In order to ensure cent percent transparency in the implementation of the welfare programmes, the Chief Minister is directly interacting with people, and giving the administration the right direction,” Mr. Lokesh said.
Sixty-eight percent of the Polavaram project work had been completed, and this was made possible as the Chief Minister himself had visited the project site multiple times. On the other hand, the Centre was yet to reimburse funds to the tune of ₹3,600 crore, he added.
“The interlinking of rivers has proved to be a boon to the Rayalaseema region,” he said. The government laid CC roads up to a stretch of 22,000 km by spending ₹5,500 crore.
Later, the Minister inaugurated the anganwadi centre built at a cost of ₹10 lakh, Mahila Samkhya Bhavan constructed at a cost of ₹33 lakh, ICDS office built at a cost of ₹53 lakh, and CC roads laid at a cost of ₹4.6 crore at Pichatur.
District Collector P.S. Pradyumna and MLA Talari Aditya spoke.
Mobile phone launched
Later, Mr. Lokesh visited the Foxconn unit at Sri City near Satyavedu and launched the mobile phone manufactured at the facility.
The Minister also had a brief interaction with the workers at the industrial corridor.