Hyderabad: The outcome of the survey reportedly ordered by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the performance of Chief Ministers in the country has created a political buzz in the two Telugu-speaking states.
While Telangana state Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao has apparently been ranked first in the country, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu was ranked 13th.
While AP government sources claimed that Mr Naidu was ranked fifth and not 13th, sources from the TS said that the fifth position had gone to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. They said that MP CM Shivraj Chauhan was ranked second, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh third and Gujarat Chief Minister Anandiben fifth. The Prime Minister had ordered the survey by the IB and some private agencies.
Schemes help K Chandrasekhar Rao top
The PM had ordered the survey to gauge the performance of various states and CMs in implementing development programmes. The survey was taken up in all states and Union Territories between April and June this year and the report was submitted to the Prime Minister recently.
The report assumes significance in the backdrop of the PM convening an Inter-State Council meeting in New Delhi on July 16, which is being held after a gap of 10 years. Sources said Modi is expected to make a reference to the survey report in the meeting.
TS sources said the novel schemes being implemented by Mr Rao such as Mission Bhagiratha, Mission Kakatiya and Haritha Haram etc., ensured that he was ranked the No. 1 CM in the country.
They said that the PM and several Union ministers have on several occasions showered praises on Mission Bhagiratha, aimed to supply tap water to every household in TS by laying 1.25 lakh km pipelines by 2018 — the largest in the country — by spending over Rs 40,000 crore, Mission Kakatiya, aimed to restore 45,000-odd lakes by spending Rs 25,000 crore in five years, and plantation of 230 crore saplings to increase green cover in TS from 27 per cent to 33 per cent in five years, and have asked other states to emulate them.
“These three schemes of the TS government, the first of their kinds in the country, stood out among all other schemes being implemented in the rest of the country and helped Mr Rao attain first rank among all CMs,” the sources said.
