VIJAYAWADA: Decentralisation of development besides laying a strong foundation for a better future has been the policy of the YSRC government that has ushered in revolutionary changes in the last three years, Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy said on Monday. He hoisted the national flag at the Indira Gandhi Municipal Corporation Stadium in Vijayawada on the occasion of the 76th Independence Day.
Reiterating his government’s commitment to welfare, Jagan said, “We treat all the money being spent on welfare as an investment for a better and bright future. It will pave the way for nation building and preparing youngsters to cross all discriminations and face the competitive world.”
“India’s first prime minister on the country’s first Independence Day said, the ambition of the greatest man of our generation has been to wipe ‘every tear from every eye.’ That may be beyond us, but so long as there are tears and suffering, so long our work will not be over,” Jagan quoted Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru and added that his government, too, has been implementing the same in letter and spirit for the past three years.
Describing the Tricolour as a symbol of India’s independence, democratic spirit and self-respect, Jagan said it is matter of pride that the national flag was designed by Pingali Venkayya—a Telugu man.
Speaking about the strides the nation has made in the past 75 years, Jagan said the rate of literacy in the country has increased to 77% from 12%, irrigation resources rose to 49% from 18% and the country is 99% electrified.
“However, the struggle for equality, identity and security still continues. Today, we are witnessing a social struggle and in the last three years, our government has made every effort to find a solution to these problems,” the chief minister asserted.
Policy is to decentralise administration to develop all regions of State, says CM
Jagan lashed out at the previous TDP regime for implementing welfare schemes only for a section of the society.The chief minister elaborated on the welfare schemes his government has introduced towards commitment to women empowerment, social justice, reforms in health and medical sectors besides taking governance to every doorstep through the village and ward secretariats, and volunteer system.
“Our policy is to decentralise administration at the capital level to develop all regions and ensure balance between them. On those lines, we took an important step and restructured 13 districts into 26, so that everyone can enjoy the fruits of development,” Jagan explained. Stating that the government has introduced a plethora of schemes like Rythu Bharosa, e-crop, free insurance, nine hours of free power to help farmers, the chief minister said they have spent `1.27 lakh crore on agriculture sector.
Asserting that their efforts have started yielding results, he said production of grains has increased on an average of 16 lakh tonnes in the last three years as against the previous regime’s five-year term.
Referring to YSR Pedalandariki Illu scheme, Jagan said they received applications from 31 families and added that all of them were provided with house sites.
Of the total, 21 lakh houses are now under construction in different phases.“In other words, we are providing assets worth `2 lakh crore to `3 lakh crore to 31 lakh women and their families,” he said.On education and health sectors, the chief minister said, a total of `53,000 crore was spent on education to provide a better future to children.“In addition to 1,088 new 108 and 104 vehicles for ambulance services, another 432 will be introduced soon. Village clinics and family doctor concept are being implemented to strengthen medical and health services at the grass root level.
Besides, revamping hospitals under Nadu-Nedu with `16,000 crore, 16 new teaching hospitals are being established. We have provided 40,000 new jobs in the medical and health sector alone,” he explained.Asserting that women empowerment has never been so prolific, Jagan said 44.5 lakh mothers had received `19,618 crore under Amma Vodi in three years while self-help groups got `12,5758 crore.
JAGAN, NAIDU ATTEND ‘AT HOME’ PROGRAMME
CM Jagan and Opposition leader N Chandrababu Naidu attended Governor Biswa Bhusan Harichandan’s ‘At Home’ programme. However, the two leaders did not talk to each other