Hyderabad, February 24: Piler Assembly constituency in Chittoor district represented by Chief Minister N. Kiran Kumar Reddy has received a shot in the arm as a Separate Area Development Authority was constituted with a budgetary allocation of Rs. 50 crore.
It will be on the lines of Pulivendula Area Development Authority conceived by late Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy for his own constituency when he was Chief Minister. A special officer was posted at Pulivendula to oversee all the developmental works in the constituency. Curiously, the allocation for Pulivendula has been drastically slashed from Rs.7 crore to a meagre Rs. 32 lakh. Piler Area Development Authority envisages development of infrastructure and other facilities in the constituency. N. Chandrababu Naidu had also helped himself from the budget when, as Chief Minister from 1995 to 2004, his Kuppam Assembly constituency, also in Chittoor district, received special attention.
Special fund
Another significant development was creation of special fund to the tune of Rs. 400 crore for development and welfare activities. Though, the government claimed that the objective of launching the new initiative was to fund the works and schemes implemented by the government, Congress leaders felt that the funds would be at the discretion of the Chief Minister.
The budget also saw a sum of Rs. 385 crore earmarked for Constituency Development Programme. The programme is similar to the Assembly Constituency Development Programme, which enabled each MLA to get Rs.50 lakh for his constituency. With the revival of Legislative Council, the funds have been enhanced to allow the MLCs to access these funds.
-Agencies