Chief Minister-designate and YSR Congress Party president Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy unveiled his roadmap for governance in the State soon after meeting Prime Minister designate Narendra Modi in New Delhi on Sunday.
Apart from releasing white papers on each department, Mr. Jagan has plans to take forward his party’s fight for the Special Category Status (SCS).
“I will raise the issue whenever I meet Mr. Modi. I hope that SCS would be reality someday or other,” he said.
The Chief Minister-designate said that the government would focus on improving the finances of the State. The objective is to drive the State from Over Draft (OD) to surplus budget. The total debts stood at ₹ 2.57 lakh crore. The debts were mere ₹ 97,000 crore when N. Chandrababu Naidu assumed office in 2014.
‘Revolutionary changes’
The government was paying ₹ 20,000 crore towards interest alone. The government plans to clear the debts in phased manner.
“ I have urged Mr. Modi to extend all possible support to the State to tide over the crisis and he responded positively,” he said.
The immediate task would be to explain the people facts and the ground reality. As a step in that direction, the government proposes to release white papers after conducting department-wise review meetings, he said, adding, “we will bring revolutionary changes in the State in the next six months to one year.”
‘No room for graft’
The government would ensure there was no room for corruption. The tenders with least quotation would be finalised and works would be cancelled without hesitation if any corruption took place.
Referring to the party’s promise of prohibititon, Mr. Jagan said that the sale of liquor would be limited to star hotels by 2024, the next election year. GST should not be a burden for the IT and hospitality industry,which generates employment. The government would implement every promise and assurance given in the election manifesto, which is like Bhagavad Gita, the Koran and the Bible, he said.
Cabinet expansion would be ten days after oath taking which is scheduled for May 30.