Listing out the achievements of the previous TDP government when he was the chief minister, TDP president N Chandrababu Naidu expressed deep anguish that the YSRCP government under Jagan Mohan Reddy has put Andhra Pradesh growth and development in a reverse gear with his lopsided policies and vindictive politics.
In a video-conference, the TDP president stated that his government made sincere and committed effort to develop Visakhapatnam, Vijayawada and Tirupati as mega cities, but in the last one year development in the State had gone back at least 25 years backwards in the wake of disastrous and “reverse” policy decisions of Jagan Mohan Reddy. “The TDP government had turned Visakhapatnam as the major hub for manufacture of medical devices in the country, meeting the requirements of the domestic market as well as the export market. The AP Medtech Zone was our brainchild. The park today is a major boost to the medical devices segment in the healthcare industry,” he stated.
Naidu, who is credited with making the undivided Andhra capital Hyderabad into an IT hub two decades ago, pointed out that during the TDP regime efforts were made to turn Vizag into a major fintech hub in the country. “I tried to create the right eco-system for IT companies in Visakhapatnam. Industry, both IT and manufacturing sectors, witnessed rapid growth. I wanted to make Visakhapatnam not only India’s capital for fintech or blockchain technologies, but a centre of excellence for the global community. Vizag was being developed as an innovation valley and we wanted to put the port city among the top three fintech centres in the world. Fintech is one of our initiatives which has attracted world-class companies. If a Fortune 500 company like Franklin Templeton Investments had chosen to set up a centre in Vizag, it is because of our efforts,” Naidu reminded.
The TDP president also recalled that he had invited Microsoft founder Co-Chair of Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Bill Gates to Visakhapatnam for AP AgTech Summit 2017. “UAE-based Lulu Group had agreed to invest Rs 2,300 crore to develop an international convention centre, shopping mall and a five-star hotel in Visakhapatnam. This government has cancelled various projects. Lulu Group has announced that it will never invest in Andhra Pradesh. Several companies, overseas investors and industrialists expressed interest in investing in Andhra Pradesh when the TDP governed the state. Today, several investors are unhappy and scared to invest in AP. How will this government think of overall development of the state with such an unfriendly business climate,” Naidu questioned.
Naidu said Wal-Mart had come forward to help Andhra Pradesh in five fields. Wipro had assured to expand its Santoor soap manufacturing unit at Hindupur in Anantapur district. PepsiCo had set up its unit at Sri City in Chittoor district. “At least 90 industries were set up in Sri City. We have invited several companies to invest in Sri City. We have envisioned Chittoor-Tirupati as South India’s leading automobile hub. We have attracted major investments from Hero Motors, Apollo Tyres, Isuzu Motors India, Ashok Leyland, Bharat Forge and several other companies. We could bring global recognition to AP because of our business friendly policies. We have attracted investments worth crores of rupees. We have signed Rs 16 lakh crore worth MoUs with various stakeholders. What did this government do in the last one year. How many companies have invested in the last one year,” Naidu asked.
AP had received recognition for creating a benchmark in IT, Electronics & Communication Technology and Innovation, endowed with high quality state-of-the-art infrastructure, skilled human resources, and business-friendly policies, he said.
The TDP said the previous government had envisioned 66 projects of which at least 22 projects were completed. Naidu said the TDP government pioneered in the concept of inter-linking of all major rivers from Vamsadhara to Penna to address the water needs of the state and its people.
“Telugu Desam government worked towards making Andhra Pradesh drought-proof by linking the rivers in the state and providing drinking water and irrigation water to all the regions. Polavaram project is the lifeline of Andhra Pradesh people. 72 per cent of the Polavaram project work was completed. The TDP government had almost completed the Handri-Neeva and Galeru-Nagari projects for Rayalaseema, but the present government has not spent a single rupee in the execution of the remaining works. Godavari and Krishna had been linked by taking up the Pattiseema lift irrigation scheme. We executed works to link the Godavari and the Penna. This government has now put the interest of Andhra Pradesh at a stake,” Naidu rued.
