Rs 6.33L cr investments for AP in 7 months: Min

The Minister for Housing and Information & Public Relations, Kolusu Parthasarathy, has alleged that the previous government has destroyed Andhra Pradesh in all sectors, while the coalition government led by Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu is making all efforts to put the State back on track. Speaking at a media conference on Wednesday, the Minister said that in the past seven months, MoUs worth Rs 6.33 lakh crore have been signed with various companies regarding investments. These efforts aim to generate millions of job opportunities, with significant investments coming from companies like TCS, NTPC, ArcelorMittal, HBC and Reliance in Visakhapatnam.
Parthasarathy condemned the criticism regarding the NITI Aayog report on the State’s financial situation, stressing that the previous government’s mismanagement had caused irreparable damage to the economy. He highlighted that under the previous regime, the State was plunged into nearly Rs 10 lakh crore of debt, and several financial obligations were left unaddressed. These included Rs 2,800 crore for student fee reimbursements, Rs. 1,700 crore for anganwadi food supplies, Rs 20,000 crore in pending salaries for government employees and Rs 7,800 crore for housing schemes.
Additionally, large-scale unpaid dues for the health insurance scheme, ‘Aarogya Sri’ and delayed payments for rice procurement from farmers were also noted.
The Minister said that the agricultural sector had been completely neglected under the previous government, with critical irrigation projects like Polavaram left in limbo. However, after the coalition government took office, Rs 15,000 crore was successfully allocated by the Central government to expedite the Polavaram project.
Minister Parthasarathy highlighted the coalition government’s efforts to secure Rs 31,000 crore from international organisations such as the World Bank, HUDCO and others for the capital development in just seven months. Under the Super Six promises, the coalition government successfully implemented the Deepam scheme, providing women with three free gas cylinders annually. He highlighted the increasing of social pensions from Rs 3,000 to Rs 4,000 on the very first day of CM Chandrababu Naidu’s leadership and are delivered to beneficiaries on the first of every month.
The Minister pointed out that while the previous government failed to fulfil its promises of filling teacher vacancies through the DSE, the current government has signed documents to recruit 16,347 teachers. Furthermore, the coalition government has revived the Anna Canteens that were shut down by the previous regime. Parthasarathy noted that the previous government had made no efforts to prevent privatisation of the Visakhapatnam Steel Plant. However, the current government has worked hard to prevent privatisation and has secured a revival package of Rs 11,500 crore from the Centre.
The Minister also mentioned the foundation-laying of the Visakhapatnam Railway Zone and reiterated that the coalition government is committed to creating 20 lakh jobs in five years.
Parthasarathy stated that the coalition government is working tirelessly to address the issues left behind by the previous administration, and is focused on reviving the State’s economy and improving the living standards of its people.