Andhra Pradesh

‘Rural job scheme helping wage workers’

ANANTAPUR: Chairman of the Administrative Reforms Commission, Veerappa Moily, has claimed that National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS) has been able to prevent migration of wage workers due to lack of wage work in villages during the lean farm periods to a large extent. It is one of the best things to have happened to the wage workers in the country since Independence as the scheme provided a right to them to seek wage work.

At a rythu sadassu organised at Madakasira on Monday as conclusion of ‘rythu chaitanya yatras’ in Penukonda revenue division, he said the NREGS has brought down the migration of wage seekers from Anantapur district to almost zero from 6 lakh every year prior to its launch. The Congress party was the lone saviour of the country and had been serving people with development work worth 1,000 votes for every vote it had polled.

On the Commission he was heading, the former Chief Minister of Karnataka said a similar committee was constituted some 45 years back under the leadership of Morarji Desai and no effort was made in that direction since then. The Commission headed by him was making recommendations on transparent, corruption-free and people-oriented governance. The panel had already submitted eight reports and was in line to submit another half-a-dozen.

Most of the administrative practices and laws in the country pertained to the British period and several of them needed amendments to suit the present day situations, he said. Turning to farmers’ welfare, he said the government had waived farm debt to the tune of Rs. 72,000 crore, including Rs. 13,000 crore pertaining to 83 lakh farmers in Andhra Pradesh. Another 22 lakh farmers would be benefited with Rs. 1,100 crore in the form of Rs. 5,000 each as incentive for their non-inclusion in the waiver scheme due to technicalities.

All the farmers would be given certificates of loan waiver by June 30 and Rs. five lakh each; new farmers and lease farmers would also be given crop loans afresh this year in the State. He showered praise on the administration of Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy even by going to the extent of likening him to modern Krishnadevaraya who was filling tanks built by the Vijayanagara emperor with water from irrigation projects.

Mr. Moily criticised TDP president N. Chandrababu Naidu and his anti-farmer policies. “He was never a happy man and thus he never kept the people happy. But Dr. Reddy is always happy and he is able to keep people happy with schemes and blessings of nature,” he said.

Minister for Agriculture N. Raghuveera Reddy, Zilla Parishad Chairperson T. Kavitha, Anantapur MP A. Venkatarami Reddy, legislators G. Thippeswamy, K. Mohan Reddy and J. Ramaiah also spoke. Vice-Chancellors of ANGRAU, SV University of Veterinary Sciences and Horticulture University P. Raghava Reddy, Krishnamohan Rao and S.D. Sikhamani, Commissioners of Agriculture and Horticulture D. Srinivasulu and Madhusudhan Rao, were also present.

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