Govt giving priority for welfare, development and good governance: CM

Metro India News | NARSAPURAM

Chief Minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu said the coalition government is giving priority to welfare, development and good governance, with the economic empowerment of the poor as its primary objective. Participating in the distribution of NTR Bharosa pensions at Mogalthur in Narsapuram Assembly constituency on Tuesday, he recalled that 31 years ago, on September 1, he was sworn in as the Chief Minister of undivided Andhra Pradesh for the first time. The Chief Minister said enhanced pensions were being provided to senior citizens, widows, persons with disabilities and other sections.

So far, Rs.73,507 crore had been distributed to the poor through pensions, while Rs.1.50 lakh crore had been spent on welfare programmes over the past two years. Chandrababu Naidu said the savings movement launched through DWCRA groups had laid the foundation for women’s empowerment. He said the Deepam scheme was introduced to ensure that no woman faced difficulties in cooking, and under Deepam-2.0, three free LPG cylinders were being provided every year.

Last year, one lakh DWCRA women had grown into MSME entrepreneurs, and the target had been increased further this year, he added. The government would provide marketing facilities through the ‘Swayam’ brand for products made by DWCRA women, the Chief Minister said. The long-pending issue of SC categorisation had also been implemented to ensure justice, the Chief Minister added.

Students from tribal areas were being provided training and sent for competitive examinations and higher education opportunities in institutions such as IITs and IIMs. Chandrababu said Krishna waters had been brought to drought-prone areas through the Veligonda Project. He said measures were being taken to ensure that Godavari waters first reach Anakapalli, Visakhapatnam next year and subsequently the Vamsadhara region.

The Chief Minister assured that the government would work for the development of the Narsapuram region. An Aquaculture University, a dump yard and delta modernisation works would be taken up, he assured . Chandrababu Naidu said the NDA alliance would remain unbeatable whenever elections were held in the state. Ministers Nimmala Ramanaidu and Gottipati Ravi Kumar, Deputy Speaker Raghurama Krishnam Raju, Union Minister Bhupathiraju Srinivasa Varma, Whip Bolisetti Srinivas and other leaders participated.