Criticising the previous regime of the YSRCP government, the Governor said, 'During 2019-24, democracy was at peril, people were in a state of fear'
Published Jul 22, 2024 | 12:46 PM ⚊ Updated Jul 22, 2024 | 12:46 PM
Andhra Pradesh Governor addressing the Assembly. (Screengrab)
In what has turned out to be a severe indictment of the rule of the previous YSRCP government, Governor S Abdul Nazeer in his address to the joint session of the Andhra Pradesh legislature on Monday 22 July gave a detailed account of how the work initiated in 2014 to put the state on the road of development was subverted by the successor YSRCP government in 2019.
It may be noted that the Governor’s address is prepared by the state government and handed over to Raj Bhavan. The Governor is expected to read the speech prepared by the government, in this case, TDP-JSP-BJP regime led by Chandrababu Naidu.
The Governor, in the midst of slogans by the YSRCP MLAs, described the rule between 2019-24 as the second debacle the state had suffered after its traumatic experience of bifurcation.
The Governor said: “Winning elections and assuming responsibility is a happy event, but now we are meeting in different and difficult circumstances – perhaps for the first time in the country the members are not in a position to rejoice and have the means to meet people’s aspirations immediately. Keeping this in view, my government is proposing to go for a budget after meaningful deliberations.”
The Governor also gave an account of the steps being taken by the TDP government to put the state back on the rails.
He said: “The government has already launched its people-centric governance by announcing a Mega DSC for filling up 16,347 teacher vacancies, abolishing the Land Titling Act, enhancing social security pensions to ₹4,000, organizing a Skill Census and re-opening the Anna Canteens to provide food for the poor at a very nominal rate of ₹5, and supply of free sand.”
He also said the completion of Polavaram, the lifeline of Andhra Pradesh, is of utmost importance.
“The Polavaram project has been completely derailed. Introduction of reverse tendering and cancelling the agreed contracts have caused irreparable damage, not only to the project but also to the concept of interlinking of rivers,” he said
Elaborating on the destruction that took place in several sectors under the previous government between 2019-24, the Governor said that the extent of real damage has not come in for public discourse so far. “The misgovernance from 2019-24, created a trust deficit with regulatory authorities and damaged the brand of Andhra Pradesh among investors. The people have now given a strong mandate to the NDA to rebuild the brand of Andhra Pradesh and regain the trust.”
The governor spent a major part of his address speaking on the initiates of the TDP government in 2014 to rebuild the state from the shambles it was left after the division and how the clock was put back by the successive YSRCP government, damaging the brand Andhra Pradesh, which shut the doors to fresh investments in the state. “Today, we stand at a juncture where the people have to again take up the task of rebuilding their State,” he said.
Drawing parallels between the 2019 regime change to state bifurcation in 2014, the Governor said: “The change of regime in 2019 had brought back the disturbing times for the nascent Andhra Pradesh.”
“The State that already bore the brunt of bifurcation in 2014, was rather unfortunate to have witnessed yet another bigger debacle in the form of inept governance, where the people were threatened and officers demoralized.”
He added, “In fact, the damage and losses during the period 2019-24 have been more severe compared to State re-organization in June 2014. The government that assumed charge in June 2019 started on a destructive note with the demolition of ‘Praja Vedika’ that continued unabated till the end of the regime in June 2024.”
He said that notwithstanding the adverse impact of state bifurcation and undaunted by challenges such as budgetary constraints, infrastructural deficiencies and unresolved issues, the then government had converted every crisis into an opportunity during the period 2014-19. He added, “The government had laid a solid foundation for a vibrant ‘Sun Rise Andhra Pradesh’.”
The Governor reflecting on the State’s performance between 2014 and 2019 said, “There was a balance between development and welfare. The period witnessed the completion of the prestigious Pattiseema project by linking of rivers Godavari and Krishna, the completion of 72 percent of the Polavaram project, prioritization of other irrigation projects, drought-proofing measures, real-time governance, development of the Amaravati region through land pooling, construction of new Secretariat and Legislature buildings, among others.”
Further criticising the previous regime of the YSRCP government, the Governor said, “During 2019-24, democracy was at peril, people were in a state of fear and hardly enjoyed any freedom of living. The ‘regime-revenge’ politics had severely hampered the State’s prospects for prosperity and growth.”
“Even the High Court of Andhra Pradesh had sought to convene a judicial inquiry into whether there is a “constitutional breakdown” in the State. The biggest damage was done to the ‘Brand AP’.”
Criticising the previous regime, the Governor said, “The corrupt practices at all levels coupled with the weaponization of instruments of governance across revenue earning Departments for personal gains, sabotage of checks and balances made several state institutions defunct and forced the existing investors and entrepreneurs to move out of Andhra Pradesh.”
The governor said there was a large-scale diversion of funds, higher taxation despite high inflation, an increase in power sector liabilities, and neglect of capital expenditure which eventually resulted in slowing down of the economy. “The enormous gap in resources was sought to be met repeatedly by borrowings through corporations and forcing them to spend on government expenditure, and in the process weakening the corporations.”
The Governor recalled how, many vendors and contractors approached the high court for a direction for clearance of their bills.
“About 25,000 cases have been filed for bill payments, which is unprecedented. The sheer number of contempt cases with personal appearances and arrest warrants against officials in several cases resulted in systematic humiliation and victimization of bureaucracy. This led to complete demoralization of the administrative machinery,” he said.
He said that the compound annual growth rate of the State’s Own Tax Revenue slipped from 12.8 percent to 8.1 percent, revenue expenditure increased from 7.8 percent to 10.5 percent, and capital expenditure growth declined steeply from 26.4 percent to 3.4 percent.
The governor said that the Amaravati capital region envisioned as the focal point of growth for the nascent State of Andhra Pradesh, was totally destroyed. “In an attempt to scrap the Amaravati dream, the government confused the people with its ‘malicious’ three capital cities idea under the guise of decentralized governance.”
He said that during the period 2019-24, no irrigation project, no new industries, no infrastructure relating to roads, buildings, hospitals, drinking water, was taken up.
“The cancellation of MoUs in the energy sector and other infrastructure projects further demonstrated the negative attitude of the Government. Such disastrous decisions, unmindful of consequences, have led to unrest among the youth and job aspirants. The prevalence of an uncertain environment has eventually led the youth towards addiction to illegal substances, causing a drug menace.”
The Governor said that the unilateral announcement of three capitals for Andhra Pradesh resulted in 1,631 days of farmers’ protest, modification of jurisdiction of the Capital Region Development Authority to 6,993 sq.km., shelving the preparation of Regional Master Plans, completing the land acquisition in only 191 acres are some of the events that halted the progress in CRDA. He added, “This led to a potential loss of about 7 lakh jobs and estimated loss of wealth of about ₹2 lakh crore, along with loss of investment and growth opportunities.”
(Edited by Sumavarsha Kandula)
