Rs 1,500 crore saved through reverse tendering of projects
In an attempt to put an end to corruption in execution of projects, the State government has gone for reverse tendering of the ongoing projects and proposed the same for new projects. In the past six months, the government has saved `1,500 crore through reverse tendering of projects. After cancelling the tenders of Polavaram and Veligonda irrigation projects, the government has invited fresh tenders. In Polavaram project itself, it has saved around Rs 1,000 crore. Simultaneously, the government has constituted the Judicial Preview Committee headed by retired High Court Judge Justice Sivasankara Rao, which will conduct a review of all the tenders that the government invites for any work above `10 lakh. The Judge will go through the tenders, invite public suggestions after putting the same in public domain and only after getting the nod of the panel, bids will be invited
`13,500 a year for 45.8 lakh ryots under Rythu Bharosa
Launched on October 15 in Nellore district, the scheme is intended to provide a financial assistance of `13,500 per year in three instalments to every farmer in the State. This comes to `67,500 in five years and about 48 lakh farmers will benefit from the scheme. The government has already paid the first instalment to 45.82 lakh farmers while the remaining beneficiaries will be paid in the next one week
Making sure availability of quality farm inputs in village secretariats
Setting up of agriculture labs in every Assembly constituency headquarters
Rs 2,164 crore has been paid as insurance premium on behalf of 55 lakh farmers covering land holdings of 56 lakh hectares. A farmer’s share in the premium is just Re 1
Supply of nine-hour free power to agriculture sector during daytime
Number of liquor outlets, bars reduced
Implementation of total prohibition in a phased manner in the State has been taken up by the YSRC government as promised by it during its election campaign. In the first phase, it has cancelled the licences of liquor shops and took them under its control. The number of liquor outlets has been reduced to 3,500 from 4,380. The government claims to have enforced the closure of all the 44,000-odd belt shops in the State. The excise policy will come into force from January 1, 2020. The number of bars in the State will be reduced to 487 from 797.
25% fall in alcohol consumption in October 2019 compared to the corresponding month in 2018
55% fall in consumption of beer
8,033 salesmen and 3,500 supervisors appointed
Dial 14400 to end corruption in govt departments
Another major initiative taken by the government is eradication of corruption at all levels. It has launched a 24x7 call centre with toll-free number 14400 to enable people to lodge complaints pertaining to corruption in government departments. The complaints will be looked into within 15-30 days. The complaints received by the call centre will be forwarded online to the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) of the district concerned for necessary action. Senior officials can also log in to the system to monitor the progress of investigation
MoU with IIMA to end graft
In another step, the ACB has entered into an agreement with the prestigious Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad (IIMA), which will study and submit a report on the prevailing corrupt practices in the government offices right from village level, besides suggesting remedial measures
Amma Vodi: `15,000 for mothers
To be launched on January 9, 2020, the scheme intends to provide `15,000 to the mother of a child who sends her children to school. This is aimed
at increasing the rate of literacy by preventing parents from sending their children to work to support the family
Nadu-Nedu: 45,512 govt schools to get a facelift
Launched in Prakasam district on November 14, the scheme is aimed at transforming the government schools on par with private educational institutions. Nine basic amenities will be provided to all the 45,512 government schools in the State in five years under the scheme.
The government has earmarked `12,000 crore for implementation of the scheme. In the first year, 15,715 schools will be developed under the scheme. Before the launch of development works, the photo of the school will be taken and put up on the noticeboard. After transforming the school, another photo will be taken and the same will be displayed under the scheme
78.2% of Spandana grievances redressed
Spandana is aimed at redressal of public grievances promptly. As part of the weekly grievance redressal programme, the Collector, Superintendents of Police, Commissioner of Police and other district officials will receive complaints from people and resolve them within a stipulated time frame. As many as 8,15,461 applications have been received in 13 districts of the State so far. Out of the total, 78.2% of grievances have been resolved, 7.3% are pending and 14.4% are rejected due to various reasons
Power purchase pacts
The Jagan Mohan Reddy government’s decision to review Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) signed by the TDP government with solar and wind power companies has created a controversy. The issue is presently under the consideration of the High Court following the complaints filed by the power generating companies
Controversies
Sand scarcity
The State government scrapped the previous government’s free sand policy and announced a new sand policy on September 5. However, the transition period between the two policies had allegedly led to sand scarcity and construction workers suffered a lot with the construction activity literally coming to a standstill
Investment fears
In what came as a shock to the government, some of the industry majors left the State. The latest one is Lulu Group, which said it will not invest in the State after the government cancelled the land allotment made to the UAE-based group in Visakhapatnam. The Opposition alleged that companies are running away from AP
4.1 lakh jobs created
The YSRC government has generated 4.1 lakh jobs with the introduction of the village secretariat system.
Launched at Karapa in East Godavari district on October 2, it is intended to resolve the grievances of people within 72 hours. Of the total 4.1 lakh jobs generated, 1.4 lakh are permanent government jobs, while the remaining are village and ward volunteer jobs.
English medium till Class 6
The government has announced introduction of English medium from Class 1 to 6 in all government schools in the State from the next academic year to realise the dreams of students hailing from poor families. English medium will be introduced for Classes 7 to 10 in the subsequent four years from 2021-22. However, Telugu will continue to be a compulsory subject for all classes.
Pension for more people
Soon after taking oath as the Chief Minister, Jagan Mohan Reddy signed the first file enhancing the pension amount to Rs 2,250. It will be increased to Rs 3,000 per month by the end of five years. The social security benefit has been extended to more number of people by reducing the age limit from 65 to 60 years. A beneficiary of old age pension gets Rs 2,250 per month, while a differently-abled person is paid Rs 3,000
Rs 1,740 cr for YSR Aarogyasri
A sum of Rs 1,740 crore has been allocated for 2019-20 for YSR Aarogyasri. A family with an annual income of less than `5 lakh is eligible to get the benefit for any healthcare which costs above `1,000. For those who have to be confined to bed post-surgery, the govt will pay `225 per day or a maximum of `5,000 per year. CKD patients and people suffering from chronic diseases are paid a monthly pension of `10K.