Leaders of opposition parties and civil society organisations decried the “absence of development” in Andhra Pradesh, particularly in Nellore district, and blamed it on the “lopsided” economic policies of the YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) government.
Leading a discussion at a roundtable on the development of the undivided Nellore district organised by Jana Chaitanya Vedike here on October 26 (Thursday), suspended YSRCP MLA Anam Ramanarayana Reddy said that development of agriculture, industry and services sector should precede welfare to ensure all-round development of the State.
“The State is suffering because of the undue emphasis on welfare schemes without the creation of wealth by the Jagan Mohan Reddy government,” opined the former Finance Minister of undivided Andhra Pradesh.
Irrigation sector
He opined that linking the rivers Godavari, Krishna, Penna and Swarnamukhi was the need of the hour to find a permanent solution to the water woes of the people which got accentuated due to the “non-maintenance” of existing irrigation projects including Somasila and Annamayya by the Jagan Mohan Reddy government. As a result, farmers were forced to observe a crop holiday this year. Over 3,000 tmc ft of the Godavari water went unutilised into the sea as the YSRCP government allocated only 5% of the State Budget to the irrigation sector and spent about 3% as against 10% to 15% spent on the sector by the previous governments, he said.
The Venkatagiri MLA alleged that the YSRCP government had dashed the hopes of farmers in the upland areas of Udayagiri and Atmakur by denying funds to the Pula Subbaiah Veligonda project, which was being implemented at a snail’s pace.
Suspended YSRCP MLA from Nellore Rural Assembly segment Kotamreddy Sridhar Reddy said the State was caught in a debt trap due to “extravagant spending” by the government which only pursued ‘‘politics of vengeance’‘ to put to trouble opposition party leaders and neglecting people’s welfare.
Vedike president V. Lakshman Reddy wanted the intellectuals to wage a struggle cutting across party lines to unseat the ‘‘anti-people’‘ YSRCP government.
Former MLC Vitapu Balasubhramanyam opined that special funds should be allocated for the development of the backward Muslim and Yenadi communities in the district.
CPI district secretary D. Ankaiah, CPI(M) district secretary M.Ramesh and Jana Sena Party district president Ch Manukranth Reddy were among those who spoke.
