The much-awaited Pulichintala Project will become a reality by August-end, declared Chief Minister N. Kiran Kumar Reddy on Saturday.
Addressing a public meeting on the campus of Avanigadda Government Degree College, Mr. Reddy announced amidst a thumping round of applause from farmers that the project designed to cater to the needs of the Krishna delta spread across Krishna, Guntur, Prakasam and West Godavari districts, would be completed by August-end and dedicated to the nation.
Unmindful of the sharp criticism by his own Cabinet Ministers against schemes like ‘Bangaru Thalli’ and ‘Amma Hastham’, Mr. Reddy tried to strike a chord with the large number of women among the audiences by addressing them as ‘Bangaru Thallulu’ and went on to explain the benefits of the scheme. He said that legislation would be introduced in the State Assembly to give it a legal status.
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Giving out statistics of the fund allocation for the women’s welfare schemes, he said that Rs.16,500 crore had been given this year alone. “When I took over the reigns of power, the State was going through a very difficult phase.
The law and order condition was bad and the Rs.8,000-crore old dues I inherited compounded my woes. The Congress Government could, however, overcome the difficulties. We sanctioned Rs.12,351 crore under the SC/ST Sub-plan in one year,” he announced amid yet another round of public approval.
Referring to Amma Hastham, he said that the interests of the poor and the needy had always been the Congress Government’s top priority.
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Farmers, he claimed, had also benefited under the Congress rule. “The Government sanctioned Rs.72,000 crore to the farm sector, against Rs.8,000 crore by the Chandrababu Naidu Government,” he pointed out.
State Ministers K. Parthasarathy, Thota Narasimham and P. Viswaroop, Telugu Official Language Commission Chairman Mandali Budha Prasad, former MP Badiga Ramakrishna, MP Konakalla Narayana Rao were present.