VIJAYAWADA: Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu has said Collectors should be proactive and develop leadership qualities to achieve result-oriented targets. He said the State is in leadership transition stage and Collectors should adopt hybrid models of new-age governance to win the confidence of people. Stating that it is not the time for reviews but for results, the Chief Minister said everyone should work with one State, one vision and one mission — Swarnandhra.
Addressing the eighth Collectors’ Conference at the Secretariat on Thursday, the Chief Minister said the State had achieved a growth rate of 13.44 per cent in the first quarter, the highest in India, and stated that a growth rate of 15 to 20 per cent should be achieved.
Giving the highest priority to leadership efficiency among Collectors, the Chief Minister stressed the need for result-oriented leadership to resolve people’s issues on the spot by unlocking old systems. He said the State government was developing a strategy to train district Collectors in leadership qualities.
Citing the deficit rainfall crisis, the Chief Minister said Collectors should undertake proper planning to overcome the present water crisis and provide water security to farmers and people. He said there should be zero tolerance in drinking water supply. He made it clear that Collectors should give priority to field visits to understand ground realities and resolve issues on the spot.
The Chief Minister called upon Collectors to work as public servants without ego. He said Action Taken Reports on decisions taken at previous conferences would henceforth be mandatory.
The Chief Minister said it was not enough to work; officials must also effectively counter fake campaigns. Whenever false propaganda was spread, officials must take the lead and respond promptly.
He said deep-tech governance could deliver unprecedented results and technology-enabled systems such as Data Lake and AWARE should accelerate decision-making and improve the quality of services.
The Chief Minister said the coalition government had completed projects including Handri-Neeva, Veligonda Phase-I, Polavaram Left Canal and Bhogapuram International Airport. He made it clear that the Polavaram project would be dedicated to the nation by March 2027.
He said geographical imbalances in the State had resulted in some regions facing water stress. If rivers such as the Godavari, Cauvery, Mahanadi and Ganga were interlinked and a national water grid created, India’s development would become unstoppable, he added.
The Chief Minister called upon Collectors to identify the growth engines of their districts and develop new sources of wealth and income. He said every district should identify its top 25 projects, while 10 to 15 priority projects should be identified for every constituency.
Citing Konaseema as an example, he said the region was known for coconut and paddy but had fallen behind in income due to a lack of exploration of new avenues. At the same time, by unlocking new opportunities, Eluru district had emerged as one of the best-performing districts with palm oil plantations.
He said Ministers, officials and Collectors should compete in delivering government services and winning the confidence of people.
The CM said reforms were being implemented in the Revenue Department.