VIJAYAWADA: Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu reiterated that Terms of Reference for 15th Finance Commission to use 2011 population as a point of reference is not acceptable as it is detrimental for the growth of the state.
Addressing the inaugural of two-day Collector’s conference, the first in the current fiscal, at his residence in Vundavalli near here, the Chief Minister said the proposal is nothing but penalizing the progressive and performing states. He said if 2011 population is considered as a base, the Southern states are in danger of losing a substantial number of Parliamentary constituencies, as all the Southern states had successfully implemented population control measures.
He said despite lack of cooperation from the Central Government, Andhra Pradesh in last four years has succeeded in implementing various development and welfare programmes. He attributed the credit for it to the government officials and employees and thanked them.
“On June 2, it will be four years after the state got bifurcated. The injustice done to the state is yet to be addressed. The main reason for allying with BJP was for doing justice to the State, but when it did not happen, we parted ways with NDA government. Now if we do not confront and question the Central Government, we stand to lose big, hence we are questioning it today,” he explained. He observed that after his confrontation with Central Government over the interest of the state, satisfaction levels among the people has increased.
The Chief Minister said the equal emphasis is on welfare and development. Adopting latest technologies, it was ensured that genuine beneficiaries get benefited from the welfare schemes, he said at present 47 lakh pensions are being disbursed and they plan to sanction 5 lakh more pensions. He said insurance amount of Rs 5 lakh extended to accident victims is providing the needed financial security for the victims family.
“We are contemplating to introduce Unemployment Allowance from June onwards,” he said and added Anna Canteens too will commence from that month. He said even the states which having plenty of resources has not provided 100 percent power and gas connectivity like Andhra Pradesh.
He said for 2107-18, the growth rate in GSDP of Andhra Pradesh was 11.22percent against the national average of 6.6 percent. When the industries being grounded in the state commence functioning, 11 lakh additional jobs will be created, he said and asked the officials to strive for setting up MSME parks in all 175 assembly constituencies. He said only with cooperative and coordinated efforts from everyone in the state, making the state one of the top three states by 2022 is possible.
Earlier, Finance Minister Yanamala Ramakrishnudu said there is a need to properly and effectively use our resources and show the results. “We've done decent job creation in the IT sector. To increase our per capita income, more jobs need to create,” he said. Deputy Chief Minister KE Krishnamurthy, Chief Secretary Dinesh Kumar also spoke,