Income of AP temples rising due to growing sins: CM Chandrababu Naidu

Vijayawada: Income of temples in Andhra Pradesh has grown by 27 per cent, chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu said, attributing it to the “growing sins”.

“People are committing sins and to get rid of them they are going to temples and offering money,” the chief minister remarked, during his inaugural address at the two-day conference of district collectors here on Wednesday.

At the same time, he pointed out, sale of liquor was coming down, resulting in reduced income to the state. “More people are taking (Sabarimala) Ayyapa Swamy ‘deeksha’ and abstaining from liquor consumption for 40 days. To that extent our liquor sales are going down,” he observed, though jocularly.

Asking district collectors to develop a “competitive spirit”, the chief minister said 2015-16 financial year should be taken as the base year for competition among districts in various development indicators.

“Your focus should be on inclusive growth and balanced development. Also, strive to achieve at least 80 per cent satisfaction among people (in service delivery),” Chandrababu noted.