Date:15/07/2004 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2004/07/15/stories/2004071508050600.htm

Andhra Pradesh

Kalam unveils multipronged plan for rural development

By Our Special Correspondent

HYDERABAD, JULY 14. The President, A. P. J. Abdul Kalam, today unveiled a multipronged plan of ushering in `Rural Prosperity through Connectivity (RUPCON)' and suggested setting up `ten immediate missions' to achieve the goals of rural development in Andhra Pradesh.

Addressing the members of the Assembly, Mr. Kalam said his three- tier RUPCON model for rural development was based on providing physical (roads), electronic and knowledge connectivities which would result in economic connectivity. At the first level, panchayat raj institutions could be empowered to provide facilities such as sanitary, health, school education, self-employment and micro credit.

The second layer could be a village cluster (20 to 40 villages) providing road network and transportation for connecting villages, electronic connectivity, health care services and education network. The third one could be intra-district level projects based on core competencies.

Of the 10 missions he suggested, four are for agriculture for transforming 50 per cent of the 21lakh hectare wasteland in the State into productive land, doubling the productivity of cotton and raising herbal and Jatropha plantations. Of the two missions for energy sector, one could be for commissioning two 100 MW capacity solar photovoltaic plants at a cost of Rs. 1500 crores and replicating the projects of turning municipal waste into electricity now in Hyderabad and Vijayawada.

Similar missions could be set up to tackle flourosis problems in affected villages of Nalgonda and Ranga Reddy and in the areas of health care, education and weather monitoring. Another important suggestion he made was harnessing Godavari water 2500 tmc of which during floods was flowing into the sea. He recalled the contribution of M. R. Raju in rural development, Kakarla Subba Rao in the medical field and M. Vidyasagar, who was instrumental in setting up the Centre for Artificial Intelligence in Hyderabad.

The Governor, Surjit Singh Barnala, was present. The Speaker, K. R. Suresh Reddy, described the day as historic and momentous for the XII Assembly and touched upon the President's concern towards farmers, reducing school drop-out rate and development of backward regions.

The Chief Minister, Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy, said in tune with Dr. Kalam's thinking the State had taken up programmes to uplift the farmers and rural artisans and turn it into `Haritha Andhra Pradesh' by completing all pending irrigation projects within five years. His Government would work on the ten missions suggested by the President.