Given the burden of commitments which the State is struggling to fulfil, the Andhra Pradesh State administration says it has no clue about the proposed Dasara and Deepavali gifts to below poverty line families.
Senior Ministers also feigned ignorance about the basket of clothes and essential commodities to be distributed to the SC, ST beneficiaries from October 2. Social Welfare Minister Ravela Kishore Babu disclosed 10 days ago that an in-principle decision was taken to distribute goodies to the poor and details were being worked out subject to the approval of the Cabinet.
The government however is ready to disburse enhanced social security pensions to eligible beneficiaries from October 2. “ In October, pension amount would be given directly to beneficiaries in cash and from November onwards, the amount would be deposited in their bank accounts or post office accounts,” a senior Minister said. The monthly outgo on pensions will be Rs.400 crore.
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Meanwhile, Finance Department officials were taken aback when a file reached them from the Education Department for distribution of 7.5 lakh bicycles to students at a cost of Rs.13 crore and the IT Department sent another proposal for sanction of 10,000 tablets in the first phase at a cost of Rs. 20 crore.
While distribution of bicycles was included in the Telugu Desam Party’s election manifesto, the Chief Minister himself indicated at a recent video conference that in a phase-wise manner Ipads /tablets would be distributed to the IAS officers, district and mandal-level officials so as to update data during their field visits and disbursement of benefits under various government welfare and development programmes. It would enable officials to access and update data on the move as part of e-governance and use it for verification during their field visits.
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Sources said that while the government was marshalling all its resources on a priority for the loan waiver scheme, additional give-aways being proposed at this juncture would put more pressure on the State exchequer. But they are unlikely to be cleared till the financial situation stabilises.
Government sources feel Andhra Pradesh could not take a leaf out of its neighbouring State Tamil Nadu in implementing populist schemes. Unlike a developed Tamil Nadu which did not have to shell out major amounts on infrastructure and thus could afford more welfare schemes, Andhra Pradesh was in the process of building infrastructure and its capital. Thus the government needed to streamline its welfare funding and be judicious in announcing new schemes, they said.