North Andhra projects ignored in budget: FDNA
By : K.M.P. PATNAIK
Update: 2024-11-11 19:36 GMT
Visakhapatnam: There was mixed reaction to the state budget presented by the NDA Alliance government in the assembly on Monday. General secretary of Forum for Development of North Andhra (FDNA) A. Aja Sharma said the budget disappointed the people of north Andhra as the issue of steel plant privatisation was not mentioned. He said any talk of industrial policy would be incomplete unless the government announced that it would prevent the privatisation of the steel plant.
Sharma said there was also no mention of the Sujala Sravanthi project that would fulfill the drinking water needs of the entire Andhra Pradesh. The government announced that it would take up an offshore project over the Mahendratanaya River, however, this project was conceived decades ago, he said, adding that there was also no talk about Jhanjavathi and Tarakarama Teertha Sagar projects in the budget.
The FDNA leader said the government announced a Rs 16,705 crore budget for irrigation but the amount would not necessarily spent on building and completing the projects. The amount includes wages and administrative expenditure, Sharma pointed out.
Appreciating the tenets of the budget, AP Trade Corporation chairman Vajja Babu Rao said giving priority to health, more allotment to panchayat raj, urban development and irrigation was a commendable decision by the government. The chairman thanked the government for prioritising energy, higher education, roads and buildings and the welfare of BCs, SCs, STs and minorities.