Date:26/12/2003 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2003/12/26/stories/2003122603710400.htm

Southern States - Andhra Pradesh

YSR terms Naidu's claims hollow

By Our Special Correspondent

Hyderabad Dec. 25. Countering the Chief Minister, N.Chandrbabu Naidu's, claims contained in his fourth progress report, the former CLP leader, Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy, has said that the National Human Development Report of the Planning Commission released in 2002, clearly nailed the former's claims regarding development in rural and urban areas.

In a statement here on Thursday, Dr. Reddy said the very fact that the State Government, which was the first to enter into an MoU for preparation of Human Development of the State by the UNDP, became the first to withdraw later, indicating its failures on all fronts. Few achievements here and there had been more than offset by the complete failure in many areas.

The much-touted `janmabhoomi' programme had encouraged the Telugu Desam cadres and leaders who pocketed away the money allocated for the programmes, rather than eliminating the middlemen. The poor quality of works done by them was all the more appalling, he said.

Though the Government had claimed to have spent Rs.3,167 crores on rural water programme for providing drinking water to all villages in the State, 8,301 villages continued to reel under the fluoride problem. In all 4,050 villages had no protected drinking water and 2,037 villages had no drinking water facility at all. The districts of Anantapur, Adilabad, Warangal, Nalgonda and Prakasam were such that people had to walk long distances to fetch drinking water even today.