Eluru, April 5 (NSS): Chief Minister Kiran Kumar Reddy has said “Padayatra” was more important for TDP chief N. Chandrababu Naidu than the SC, ST sub-plan.
Inaugurating the SC, ST sub-plan at the ZP high school in Jangareddygudem in West Godavari district, the Chief Minister said he expected that the TDP, BJP, TRS and Communist parties evince interest in the SC, ST sub-plan and take part in the debate. He said he was dismayed as they tried to obstruct the sub-plan. He told the gathering that the governments in other States had shown keen interest in the SC, ST sub-plan brought out by the Andhra Pradesh government. He said his government has enhanced the allocations for the SCs and STs by four times that during Naidu’s TDP rule. He sarcastically said, “His walking friend” (Chandrababu Naidu) felt that his walk was more important than anything else and went on walking, instead of attending the Assembly and take part in the debates. He said it was but natural for the Opposition parties to criticize the government, however good it might work.
The Chief Minister assured the gathering that his government stood by the poor. The Chief Minister also showered a series of boons to the SCs and STs. He told them that the government would sanction Rs 1 lakh each for their houses. He said the government wants every rupee meant for the uplift of the SCs and STs to be used for them under the sub-plan. He said of the Rs 12,256 crores allotted for the plan, Rs 8585 crores would be spent for the SCs and Rs 3,666 crores for the STs. He said no other State in the country was implementing such a plan and added that the late Prime Minister Indira Gandhi formulated it as long back as 1975. He said now the plan was implemented under the directions of the Congress president Sonia Gandhi. He said the government has appointed a committee under Deputy Chief Minister Damodar Rajanarasimha and the plan was being implemented as per the recommendations of the committee.
Assuring that greater allocations would be made towards housing, he said the housing assistance was being raised from the present Rs. 65,000 to Rs 1 lakh for the SCs. He said the STs would get Rs 1.05 lakh.
The Chief Minister said that 10 lakh acres of the SCs and STs were being developed under the ‘Indira Jala Prabha’ scheme, at a cost of Rs. 1.80 lakhs an acre. He also said that for all the SC and ST families free power was being provided up to 50 units a month.
Stating that 10 lakh SC and ST families owed Rs 268 crores towards power bills, the Chief Minister said the state government was clearing those dues. He also said the government would be providing different essential commodities valued at Rs 292 at a subsidised rate of Rs 185, from Ugadi onwards.
Ministers Kanna Lakshmi Narayana, Botcha Satyanarayana, Vatti Vasanta Kumar, Pitani Satyanarayana, MP JD Seelam, MLCs Chaitanya Raju, Ravi Varma, MLAs Dr. K Venkata Nageswara Rao, Kottapalli Subbarayudu, Bandaru Usha Rani and others took part in the program..
–Agencies