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Bureaucrats propelled industrial growth

As former chairman of APHMEL, Krishna Swamy was one of the few senior IAS officers who contributed a great deal to the industrial growth in the city, says Chalasani Dutt.

ALL INDIA SERVICE A. Krishna Swamy addressing Krishna Industrial and Agricultural Exhibition Society. Flanking him are divisional railway manager M.C. Das and district Collector A.V.S. Reddy

Foundation for industrial development in the city was laid in the 1980s and 1990s, thanks to the visionary support and guidance of some senior IAS officers. K.R. Venugopal, S. Santanam, A.V.S. Reddy and a few others were known for their individual contributions to the overall growth of the city. But the constructive role of former chief secretary of Andhra Pradesh A. Krishna Swamy in the development process deserves a special mention. Mr. Swamy is still remembered for his good work. Venugopal and others were closely associated with the district, as they served as the district collectors. But Krishna Swamy enjoyed a stronger bond because of his association with Andhra Pradesh Heavy Machinery and Engineering Limited (APHMEL) and activities of Krishna Industrial and Agricultural Exhibition Society. He always obliged the society's request to support and participate in exhibition-related programmes.

New avenues

On one occasion, Swamy participated in the valedictory function of industrial exhibition conducted by the exhibition society. His ideas mainly centred around creating new avenues for city development. He also deserved the credit for smooth conduct of Krishna `puskharams'.

Krishna Swamy and Santanam were among the IAS officers who opted to work in the newly formed Andhra Pradesh after the linguistic separation of States. Though they hailed from Tamil Nadu, the officers identified themselves with the interests of the local people and continued to render their services to Andhra Pradesh.

As the founder secretary of the Exhibition Society, I was constantly in touch with these officers. The support and encouragement they gave in motivating local entrepreneurs was immense and long lasting. The idea to promote entrepreneurial spirit among local people germinated in one of the meetings and Mr. Krishna Swamy readily agreed for joint programmes of the Exhibition Society with the Vijayawada Railway Division. The then divisional railway manager M.C. Das also supported the efforts of Exhibition Society and APHMEL.

Steady progress

The efforts helped in the springing up of several ancillary units. The Railways and the Road Transport Corporation purchased spare parts from the local units. On several occasions, special conferences were held and products were put on display for the small investors to pick and choose. The APHMEL leveraged these opportunities to a great measure and very soon it started selling machinery to the Singareni Collieries and Company Limited (SCCL).

Santanam became the managing director of APHMEL and promoted it as a pioneer in industry. The APHMEL slowly became the single largest supplier of machinery to SCCL and later it was handed over to the SCCL management.

(As told to G. Ravikiran)

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