The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh / Hyderabad News : A.P. growth rate to touch 11-12 p.c.

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Wednesday, Feb 20, 2008
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Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh - Hyderabad

A.P. growth rate to touch 11-12 p.c.

Special Correspondent

YSR gives marathon reply on debate to Governor’s Address

Chief Minister says allocation to welfare sector more in A.P. than U.P.
He likens his four-year tenure to “golden age of Guptas” with reference to irrigation projects

HYDERABAD: The economic growth rate of Andhra Pradesh for 2007-08, which is estimated at 10.37 per cent by the Central Statistical Organisation, will reach the 11.5 to 12 per cent mark when the final figures are available.

Chief Minister Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy expressed confidence about the upswing in the growth rate, citing the trend of the final figures invariably turning out to be higher than the advance estimates towards the end of the fiscal as had happened during the last four years.

Initiatives

In a marathon reply lasting four-and-half-hours to the debate on the Governor’s address in the Assembly on Tuesday, Dr Reddy said this phenomenal growth would not have been possible but for the path-breaking initiatives taken by him in various sectors, especially agriculture and irrigation.

Amid frequent interruptions and comments from the Telugu Desam members, who stormed the podium thrice to protest against the achievements claimed by him, the Chief Minister rejected reports that allocation to the welfare sector was less compared to Uttar Pradesh. He asserted that the per capita expenditure on the social sector in AP was Rs 3,707 against Rs. 1,905 in UP.

The Telugu Desam members resumed their seats on all the three occasions when Finance Minister K. Rosaiah prepared to move a resolution for their suspension. When the Chief Minister announced that he would continue the reply on Wednesday as he had no stamina left with him to cover other sectors, Speaker K. R. Suresh Reddy adjourned the House for the day .

‘Saturation concept’

The Chief Minister said his Government had adopted the ‘saturation concept’ of fulfilling all the needs of people like housing and education, and accordingly doubled allocations to the Backward Classes, SCs, STs and minorities, as no where else in the country.

In a snipe at Leader of the Opposition N. Chandrababu Naidu, the Chief Minister said “Congress does not need any lecture from anyone on social justice.”

Some 22 of the 40 members in the Cabinet belonged to weaker sections and held important portfolios like Revenue and Irrigation. Mr Naidu “who was shedding crocodile tears on BCs now”, did not allow the induction of an eligible BC leader of his party into the Union Cabinet when the TDP was a member of the coalition Government.

Dr Reddy likened his four-year tenure to “golden age of Guptas”, referring to Jalayagnam, the ambitious irrigation programme.

He admitted the Opposition description of the programme as ‘dhanayagnam’ (worship for money), saying it had already created wealth for farmers by providing water to 14.5 lakh acres and increasing land values.

Noisy protests

Amid desk-thumping by Congress members and noisy protests by their TD counterparts, he said he would complete all the 74 projects of Jalayagnam and thus continue to remain in power. “The people will vote us back, seeing how we are scripting a new history for the State,” he said.

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