For a change, Andhra Pradesh has become popular in Pakistan, but for the wrong reasons. This particular piece of propaganda, perhaps, could be considered the height of sorts from our ‘friendly’ neighbour Pakistan.
In a recent television debate in Pakistan on Indian nuclear programmes, a Pakistani scholar was on record to say, “It’s disturbing to know. A massive new city called Amaravati is under construction in Andhra Pradesh. They are planning to build a huge hydrogen bomb out there.”
The scholar went on to add, “You know who’s helping India in this initiative? America, who else?”
A.P. keeps shifting goalposts
The ambitious shift of the seat of power of AP Government from Hyderabad appears to be hitting road blocks frequently. While it was the reluctance of the employees initially, the move to shift the State Secretariat to Velagapudi in the new capital region has now slowed down due to local area status for employees. The Central Government approved according local status to protect the educational and employment opportunities of the employees but the file is said to be doing rounds between the offices of the Chief Minister and the Chief Secretary for fine tuning the notification after which formal orders are likely to be issued. From the June 29 deadline issued in the past, the government has now extended the same to July month-end with apparently little hope that it will be met.
Doubts over UDAY
Some senior officials of the AP-SPDCL are in a quandary these days. They are not sure when the much-hyped Ujwal DISCOM Assurance Yojana (UDAY) will be implemented. The loss-making discom is spending huge sums on the arrangements for Krishna Pushkaram when the Central and State governments have not yet submitted a specific roadmap for taking over its debt.
A tripartite agreement was signed by officials of the Ministry of Power, the Government of A.P. (Energy Department), and the Southern Discom recently for taking over its debt. Officials of the discom doubt whether the State government is in a position to take over the debt at a time when it is struggling to bridge the revenue deficit that came as a legacy following bifurcation.
Nevertheless, officials of the ‘power department’ have to keep the show running as long as things do not go beyond their control.
KTR has his task
cut out
Telangana’s Municipal Administration Minister K.T. Rama Rao may be just about realising how difficult it is to get things moving in matters pertaining to urban development. After publicly acknowledging the poor state of roads and drains, he read out the riot act to the municipal officials.
That was before the monsoon arrived. Now, that the rains have come even if not in the expected torrents, de-silting works in the shoddy storm water drains in Hyderabad got once again exposed when he decided to go on a midnight tour to see things for himself earlier this week.
Mr. Rao may have got a glimpse of what the commuters, especially two-wheeler riders, have been going through in the last few months having to traverse through pock-marked, slippery, uneven dug up roads and overflowing drains. That is fine but what about his promise after GHMC polls to transform the city infrastructure. It has vanished into thin air.
Steering ‘power’
in every sense
People across Telangana who have some understanding over the present day politics know very well as to who is calling the shots in the government now. Influence of this uncrowned prince has been so much that his unavailability has been forcing officials of other departments, with which he has no direct connection, to postpone official events. During the launch of some citizen-friendly online services of a department recently, a senior official quipped that the event was postponed for over a month due to unavailability of this force behind the wheel of power. What raises eyebrows is that the “force to reckon with” has nothing to do with the department as it is manned by a person who is available all through!
APPAJI REDDEM, M. RAJEEV,
V. RAGHAVENDRA, V. GEETANATH &
B. CHANDRASHEKHAR
