Setting the pace for the next financial year's growth target, Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu has given the direction for the action plan to be implemented to achieve the 15 per cent growth rate for 2016-17.
Addressing a brain storming session with his Cabinet colleagues, senior officials and the heads of departments at the Secretariat here on Saturday, Mr. Naidu emphasised that action plan should be formulated from now itself to achieve the set target.
If the targeted development and growth is not possible in a State with adequate resources, it will not be attainable anywhere in the country, he said.
"Ït is not impossible to achieve what we have set out for. We are leading in power generation, achieving industrial progress and lot of economic activity is taking place," he said explaining the rationale behind his ambitious target.
However he said it was imperative to bring changes in the system even as efforts were being made to push up the growth rate. The meeting would be useful to formulate plans for achieving sustainable growth within the specific time period.
Though we have a vision document, development was never based on a plan before. But now for the first time in the country's history, Andhra Pradesh was assessing its growth once every quarter, he said.
Government was firm on giving equal priority for welfare and development to ensure inclusive growth and development and the State would follow Malaysia's Lab Exercise where that country reviewed performance of every sector once in three months with red, orange and green indicators. Such labs would be set up soon in the State, he added.
Mr.Naidu said that the focused approach and performance indicators were another first being adopted by the State. While the growth rate in 2014-15 was 7.48, the government set a target of 10.83 in 2015-16. The development and growth in the first two quarters on the expected lines boosted the self confidence.
Expressing satisfaction over the growth registered in agriculture and allied sectors, he said linking of rivers, completing projects on the basis of priority, Neeru- Chettu, micro irrigation, conservation of ground water table, rain gun schemes were giving hopes to the farmers. Though water from Krishna catchment areas did not come to the State, Government could divert Godavari waters under Pattiseema project and ensured water to the Krishna delta, he said.
Even in Rayalaseema districts of Chittoor and Anantapur, thanks to the unprecedented rains in the last 20 years, the water table increased significantly.
He complimented the officials and Collectors for reviving the housing sector and noted that fisheries and animal husbandry sectors too posted good results. He singled out Endowments, tourism sectors and said given the pilgrim rush and tourism flow they would become another important revenue resource for the State. Sos far over 1.5 lakh foreign tourists visited the State and Visakhapatnam was leading in the tourism sector.
Government already completed tourism projects worth Rs.800 crore and remaining projects worth Rs.6,660 crore would be completed in a phased manner.
