Southern States - Andhra Pradesh   

Cong. urges relook at reforms

By Our Staff Reporter

SRIKAKULAM Dec. 23. The time has come to assess the impact of economic reforms and strike a balance between privatisation and globalisation and localising according to the indigenous conditions, the Chairman of the Pradesh Congress Committee on economic reforms, T. Purushottama Rao, has said.

The drop in employment, the predicament of farmers, lack of productive investments and the view reforms meant sale of Government properties, cut in subsidies and higher tariffs, it's time an effort was made to understand the reforms, he told presspersons here today.

While not directly replying whether he thought the process was reversible at this stage, he said the decision to open up the economy was a result of a series of developments. It came in the backdrop of GATT, and was taken just when the erstwhile USSR had collapsed and amid pressures of uni-polar market conditions. The idea was not to find fault with anyone but to assess the situation and understand the implications, Mr Purushottama Rao said. He also sought to make a distinction between the managed privatisation in China with economic and political control over the market and the "uncontrolled economy'' in India leading to a sort of vacuum now, he said. However, the implications had still to be discussed at various levels, he said, mentioning the Asia Social Forum's deliberations in Hyderabad next month.

The TDP Government, also vigorously pursing the World Bank and IMF-dictated policies had landed the State in a debt trap and so delicate was its financial position that in 210 days of the year it was living on overdrafts, the former minister said.

Mr. Purushottama Rao, who is a member of the Congress committee on temple lands, said the committee had taken up a six-day tour of various districts to study the situation. He said following a writ petition, the High Court had stayed the sale of endowment lands by the Government. He said the committee had been interacting with all those connected with the temple lands. It's objective was to save the 3.6 lakh acres of land and alleged that the TDP wanted to sell off the land to benefit people close to it. The Endowments Department of the secular Goverment also should have an understanding on the purpose for which they had to be used. He said a comprehensive legislation should be enacted to safeguard the lands. Also the purpose of temples was to promote the Indianness with regard to culture, arts, dance and music. Another member of the committee, PV Satyanarayana, the Narsannapeta MLA, Dharmana Prasada Rao, the DCC president, P Rajasekharam, and the State Panchayat Raj Abhiyan chairman, Nagubandi Satyanarayana, were present.

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