Strive to achieve A.P.’s 15% growth rate target, Naidu tells Collectors

VIJAYAWADA

Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu has said that the Swarna Andhra Pradesh – 2047 plan is in alignment with the Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Viksit Bharat vision and that all-out efforts are being made by the government to achieve that with bridging the gap between the haves and have-nots as the underlying objective.

The Andhra Pradesh (A.P.) government has set for itself an ambitious target to achieve 15% growth rate, up from the present 10.50%, by 2047, which is not impossible but requires a clear vision and concerted actions, especially by the District Collectors, whose role is extremely crucial than anyone else’s. They should make best efforts for overall development of the State, he has noted.

Addressing the Fourth District Collectors’ Conference at the Secretariat in Amaravati on Monday, Mr. Naidu said India was once ridiculed by the developed countries as having the ‘Hindu growth rate’ of a maximum of 3.50% but it shifted gears by ushering in policy reforms in the 1990s and had since not looked back. 

A.P. was in the forefront of implementing those reforms and things were going quite smoothly till bifurcation made the situation topsy-turvy for the ‘successor State of A.P’. As on date, Andhra Pradesh has the lowest per capita income among the southern States, and it continues to grapple with the fallout of bifurcation, he said.

The Chief Minister said that the TDP government had brought about a significant improvement during the 2014-19 term and together with its allies the Jana Sena Party and the BJP, the TDP has put the State back on the tracks after the difficult period of 2019-24. This would not be possible without the dedication and hard work of the Collectors.

Emphasis on planning

He said having targeted a 15% growth rate, the government laid greater emphasis than earlier on planning from the mandal up to the district level, by measuring the Gross District Domestic Products. A host of State-level economic indicators are being monitored concurrently.

The coalition government is moving forward with a clear goal to catch up with other progressive States and it already did some commendable things like delivering citizen services through WhatsApp and introduced sectoral policies to realise the untapped potential. 

The District Collectors have to keep their role in accomplishing those multiple tasks in mind and take decisions not merely from the administrative perspective but with a humane touch as satisfying the people is the very purpose of the government, more so when its ’94% strike rate’ in the 2024 elections was phenomenal to say the least. 

Mr. Naidu told the Collectors not to be complacent in their duties and to adopt latest technologies while giving due priority to field visits to get a feel of the problems faced by the people. He observed that as part of its balanced approach to development and welfare, the government has introduced the P-4 (Public – Private – People Partnership) to reduce the disparities. 

Incentive for farmers

He told the officials to ensure that farmers using less urea get an incentive of ₹800 per bag under the Program for Restoration, Awareness Generation, Nourishment, and Amelioration of Mother-Earth (PM-PRANAM). While maintaining that there is no scarcity of the fertilizer, he pointed out the rejection of consignments of chilli by China some time back as an example of consequences of over use of the chemicals. A.P. stood in the fifth place in the number of cancer cases, attributed to the excess usage of urea by farmers, he said. 

Mr. Naidu wished that the DWCRA groups should achieve an annual turnover of ₹10 lakh crore and said the money lent to them was as safe as in the possession of banks. With about 1.20 crore members, the DWCRA groups have created wonders with the revolving fund at their disposal, he said.