PNS | Vijayawada
Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy has urged the officials to focus on important initiatives to benefit the people of the State. Addressing a review meeting of the Panchayat Raj and Rural Development (PR & RD) Department on Monday, the CM highlighted the need for resurveying lands in villages, establishing digital libraries in rural and urban areas, and promoting self-employment schemes for women under the ‘Cheyutha’ programme.
The Chief Minister emphasised the significance of utilising the first tranche amounts provided to the women beneficiaries of ‘Cheyutha’ for self-employment schemes, leading to their complete empowerment. To further support women entrepreneurs, he announced the implementation of a zero-interest loan scheme on August 10.
During the review, the Chief Minister praised the exceptional performance of Andhra Pradesh at the national level, with the completion of 18.90 crore man-days under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), nearing the target of 24 crore man-days. He was informed that Rs 3,860 crore out of a total estimated expenditure of Rs 9,600 crore would be paid towards wages under the scheme.
The ongoing construction of village and ward secretariats was highlighted, with completion expected by September. Additionally, the Chief Minister acknowledged the successful completion of drone surveys of lands in 10,943 villages under Jagananna Saswatha Bhuhakku-Bhu Raksha, with land documents being handed over to the rightful owners.
The Chief Minister commended the appointment of surveyors in all village secretariats, which facilitated the speedy completion of surveys and led to the launch of registration services in villages, making Andhra Pradesh the only State to achieve this milestone.
The Chief Minister instructed officials to prioritise the construction of RBKs (Rythu Bharosa Kendras), digital libraries, and village clinics. He stressed the need to ensure pleasant and hygienic surroundings in Jagananna Colonies by providing essential facilities and excellent sanitation.
Regarding the ‘YSR Cheyutha’ initiative, the Chief Minister emphasised providing bank loans to women’s self-help groups and encouraging them to start self-employment units for greater revenue generation, ultimately leading to their economic empowerment.
In the realm of social welfare, officials reported that 62,99,393 individuals received pensions in July, amounting to Rs. 1735.36 crore monthly. Furthermore, Rs 19,178.17 crore was disbursed under ‘YSR Aasara’, while ‘YSR Zero Interest Scheme’ benefited 13 lakh people in rural areas, incurring an expenditure of Rs 14,129.11 crore over the last three years.
Highlighting the commendable work of self-help groups, officials stated that Mahila Marts, established by these groups, achieved business transactions worth Rs 32.44 crore. The Chief Minister encouraged extending the ‘Jagananna Thodu’ scheme’s benefits to self-employed women.
Recognising the challenges faced by women as a voiceless group, the Chief Minister urged officials to negotiate with banks to reduce the interest rates on loans for their progress. Notably, the interest rate on self-help group bank loans has already been reduced to 9 per cent.
Deputy Chief Minister (PR & RD) B Muthyala Naidu, CS KS Jawahar Reddy, Special CS (PR & RD) B Rajasekhar, Finance Secretary KVV Satyanarayana, PR & RD Commissioner A Surya Kumari, SVAMITVA Special Commissioner Dr A Siri, SERP CEO A Md Imtiaz, Swachha Andhra Corporation MD J Venkata Murali, and other officials attended the review meeting.
