Andhra Pradesh (A.P.) Governor S. Abdul Nazeer said that while the State was to take off on a path of high growth, the change of regime in 2019 brought back disturbing times and that the damage and losses during the period 2019-24 were more severe compared to what had been caused by the State reorganisation in 2014.
He observed that ‘usually winning elections and assuming responsibility is a happy event but now we are meeting in different and difficult circumstances; perhaps, for the first time in the country the members are not in a position to rejoice (their victory) and they don’t have the means to meet people’s aspirations immediately. Keeping this in view, the government (formed by the NDA partners) is proposing to go for Budget after meaningful deliberations’.
With this, Mr. Nazeer essentially indicated that the government might hold itself back from presenting a full-fledged Budget for the time being.
“Democracy was at peril and the people were in a state of fear and hardly enjoyed freedom of living. The ‘regime-revenge’ politics severely hampered the State’s prospects for growth and prosperity”, Mr. Nazeer said in his address to a joint session of the Andhra Pradesh Legislature on Monday, hinting at the YSR Congress Party rule.
He noted that even the High Court had sought to convene a judicial inquiry into whether there was a ‘Constitutional breakdown’. The uncertain environment, which rocked the confidence of people in general and the investors in particular, left the State finances in a mess.
Fiscal prudence was abandoned, expenditure was beyond the available means in spite of limited revenue growth and debt and liabilities rose sharply. Further, Mr. Nazeer insisted that the A.P. Reorganisation Act, 2014 did not compensate enough the residual A.P., instead it imposed an unprecedented strain on the economy.
The milestones achieved during 2014-19 were due to the visionary leadership of N. Chandrababu Naidu and the State should have continued to make rapid progress thereafter by taking advantage of a the compounded annual growth rate of 13.50% but the opportunity was squandered.
The Governor went on to say that Amaravati, which was envisioned as the focal point of growth in the wake of bifurcation, was destroyed as the previous government had confused the people with its malicious idea of three capital cities under the guise of decentralised governance.
The Polavaram, which was to be on top of the government’s list of priorities, had been completely derailed. Introduction of reverse tendering and cancellation of agreed contracts thereof caused irreparable damage.
Misuse of law and order machinery was glaring during 2019 - 24, when there was a rise in crimes especially on the Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and other vulnerable sections, the Governor added.
