Development in Andhra Pradesh should be decentralised with four to five hubs while focussing on protecting environment and creating employment, MLC M.V.S. Sarma has said.
Addressing a seminar on the direction of development in Andhra Pradesh and comprehensive progress of Visakhapatnam organised by the CPI(M), he said provision of medical care, education and transport to people in general should be considered development and opposed to favouring big corporate houses that seemed to be keen on monopolising natural resources like gas, land, and coastal areas. Development was not universally perceived as one but there were two different perceptions, he pointed out.
Any clearance for industries and power plants should not be at the cost of agricultural and forest land and environment, Mr. Sarma said. Big investments in North Andhra included a nuclear power plant at Kovvada and PCPIR for setting up second hand processing industries banned in the developed countries with a total cost of Rs.3.5 lakh crore. The nuclear plant was in an earthquake-prone zone, he alleged and said it would be a grave threat to people in the region.
Natural gasInstead, the natural gas available in KG Basin should be used for setting up industries and power plants. Similarly, Visakhapatnam Steel Plant should be allotted captive mines for massive expansion paving way for auxiliary industries and providing around 50,000 jobs.
Going by the views expressed in a discussion with MLCs it would seem that the Chief Minister was planning for a big city that would rival Hyderabad built over 30 years spending around Rs.5 lakh crore. That might lead to sub-regionalism again.
Praja Spandana president C.S. Rao found fault with forming committees on AIIMS and capital after making the intent of the government clear. People for India vice-president B.L. Narayana lambasted the eviction of the poor from Omkarnagar and Sevanagar and corporatisation of education.
CPI(M) city secretary B. Ganga Rao and city secretariat member Rajeswara Rao spoke.