Budget will reflect people's views: CM

By Our Special Correspondent

HYDERABAD, NOV. 28. The Chief Minister, Mr. N. Chandrababu Naidu, said here today that the Government would prioritise issues in the State's annual budget for 2002-03 based on people's opinion.

Announcing that it would be an ``open budget,'' he said the Government would generate a debate for seeking people's views on areas where public spending needed stepping up and the quality of services improved. These suggestions would be incorporated in the budget document before its finalisation in January next.

Addressing a meeting of District Collectors at Jubilee Hall, Mr. Naidu also disclosed that Village Secretariats would be established in all Gram Panchayats by January 1. A natural consequence of the Government's earlier decision to appoint village secretaries, this move is aimed at improving the generation of more focussed targeting of programmes and obtaining better data from villages for State-level planning.

In a broad review of the State's economic position, the Chief Minister said Andhra Pradesh had largely withstood the vagaries of nature and recessionary trends. The Gross Domestic State Product (GSDP) stood at 6.75 per cent in 2000-01, a quantum jump over the previous five years' average of 5.2 per cent and highest in the past decade.

Nineteen growth engines, which contributed 60 to 70 per cent of the GSDP, had been identified for special attention. To achieve the growth targets in these sectors, the expenditure of the Government as well as the private sector must grow. However, the recent slowdown in the world economy had halted the growth rate to 5.5 per cent in the first quarter of this year and the index of industrial production had also declined. The per capita income had witnessed a growth of 5.72 per cent in 2000-01 against 3.9 per cent in 1995-2000.

All this had become possible by containing the population growth rate for which Collectors and the Health Department must share the credit. The growth rate had come down from 1.3 per cent during 1995-2000 to 1.1 per cent in 2000-01 and 1.05 per cent in 2001-02. ``If we control the population and improve the GSDP, the per capita income will rise and poverty will be eliminated,'' he said.

He said his Government's Vision 2020 document gave the highest priority to poverty eradication and development of backward areas. As a result of efforts in this direction, Andhra Pradesh now stood fourth after Punjab and two other States in helping the highest number of BPL families.

Striking a critical note, Mr. Naidu said he had made futile pleas to the Centre to reward the States which were working hard to remove poverty and punish the sloppy ones by fixing a cut-off date for determining the number of BPL families. The Centre was willing to fix cut-off dates on other matters but not on the issue of poverty.

The Chief Minister emphasised that the forthcoming budget must also reflect an action plan for development of backward areas by providing people access to basic minimum needs, expanding employment generation and improving the quality of life.

Calling for good governance and transparency from top to bottom, he asked the Collectors to fix measurable targets in every sphere of activity as otherwise the performance would amount to nothing. They should not hesitate to emulate good practices of other States.

Mr. Naidu's opening speech was followed by an indepth review of employment generation, poverty eradication, Neeru-Meeru and watershed development. The three-day conference is being attended by Ministers, senior secretaries and heads of Government. On the final day, the Chief Minister will review the law and order situation jointly with Collectors and SPs. The Chief Secretary, Mr. P. V. Rao, welcomed the gathering.

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