The Hindu : YSR trying to mislead people on drought relief: TDP

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Apr 11, 2003

Southern States

Southern States - Andhra Pradesh

YSR trying to mislead people on drought relief: TDP

By Our Special Correspondent

HYDERABAD April 10. Dubbing the `padayatra' launched by the CLP leader, Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy, `politically motivated' but not aimed at providing solace to drought-affected people, the Telugu Desam Party today defended the Government for its `generous' drought relief measures.

The TDP said Dr. Reddy, now into the second day of his 60-day-long `padayatra' is making promises like free power supply to agriculture, which could never be fulfilled, and provoking people instead of consoling them.

Addressing a press conference here, the TDP MP, Ummareddy Venkateswarlu, and the Minister for Information, S. Chandramohan Reddy, claimed that the extent and value of drought relief provided by the Chandrababu Naidu Government was unprecedented in the country's annals. Last year, it distributed 31.50 lakh tonnes of rice worth Rs. 3,000 crores in addition to releasing an amount of Rs. 660 crores.

As many as 4 lakh old-aged persons would be given pensions of Rs. 75 a month between December last and June 2003 and 11 lakh poor families provided 10 kg. of rice each. In the next few months, the Government would distribute rice worth Rs. 1,500 crores for providing employment in rural areas.

However, Dr. Rajasekhara Reddy is trying to mislead people about the drought by picking holes in the relief programme. His promise of supplying power free of cost to farmers if the Congress comes to power is ridiculous because his own family members are selling power to the Government at Rs. 3.48 a unit. But, after taking T & D losses into account, the actual cost of supply to the farmer worked out to Rs. 4.40 a unit. The total power subsidy to the agriculture sector is nearly Rs. 2,000 crores.

Rejecting the CLP leader's charge that the TDP Government had neglected the irrigation sector, they held that an ayacut of 10 lakh acres had been added and 18 lakh acres stabilised, all at an expenditure of Rs. 8,899 crores, since Mr. Naidu took over as Chief Minister. In contrast, the Congress Government spent Rs. 2,500 crores on irrigation between 1989 and 1994.

The TDP leaders said they were sure Dr. Reddy would be in for surprises during his `padayatra' when he comes across good roads, check dams, percolation tanks and new school buildings. It is apparent that his exertions are meant to prove his supremacy within the Congress.

Dr. Venkateswarlu said the 12th Finance Commission had observed only yesterday that power and water supply should be priced and that there should be `no free lunches.' To a question, he said the TDP supported this view.

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