The proposal to hand over maintenance of two parks to private parties and the reported announcement by Minister Ch. Ayyanna Patrudu that ‘liquor zones’ would be set up along the beach to promote tourism, have come in for severe criticism from the Communist Party of India(Marxist).
The proposal to run public amenities in the PPP-mode would pave the way for privatisation and the ‘liquor zones’ proposal came at a time when the State government was making tall claims of removing ‘belt shops’ (unlicensed liquor shops), according to CPI(M) State executive committee member Y. Venkateswara Rao and city committee executive members V.S. Padmanabha Raju and A. Ajay Sarma.
Addressing a media conference here on Tuesday, they said that the proposal to hand over the maintenance of Shivaji Park and Lumbini Park, which are presently under the control of Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation (GVMC), to private parties, in the PPP-mode, would deter the common man from going to these parks. The private developer would hike the entry ticket and could also introduce other tickets in a bid to earn more profits.
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They said that the proposal, even as the GVMC elections were due, was unfortunate and demanded its reversal. They also opposed the proposal to construct houses for the poor with private participation and said the government should take it up on its own. On the State government’s plans to develop new Andhra Pradesh on the lines of Singapore and Malaysia, they said that basic amenities like drinking water and sanitation should be provided first before going for smart cities.
Mr. Venkateswara Rao said that it was unfortunate that the State Government had not made any announcement on MBBS counselling so far. The moves of the government indicated that privatisation of education was in the offing. The plan to set up private universities was one such move and called for opposing it tooth and nail. The proposal to install water meters apart from collection of garbage tax and drainage cess in the name of reforms in towns and cities was nothing but the government slowly deviating from its duty and taxing people.
He also sought the deputation of medical teams to the Agency areas to combat malaria and dengue fevers, which had reportedly taken a toll of 1,000.
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