Vijayawada:Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu met with government officials at the Secretariat on Thursday to discuss the agenda items to be put forth during the 4th Niti Aayog Governing Council meeting to be held in Delhi.Speaking to the officials, the Chief Minister said that the state of Andhra Pradesh was the fastest growing state in the country during the last four years at 10.5% and this was possible only because of consistent efforts of people and the government.The Chief Minister said that the issues related to AP Reorganisation Act and its improper implementations also must be raised at the Niti Aayog Governing Council meeting as it is the best platform to have deliberations on the betterment of the state which would eventually result in the growth of the country.
Expressing dissatisfaction over the lack of support from the centre, the Chief Minister said, “The cooperation from centre was lacking and we were forced to carry on with a decision which was not in our best interest. Many obstacles came our way and the central government didn’t facilitate our progress in any way despite us showing tremendous potential.” “We are contributing to nation’s development to the best of our ability and the centre must also recognize that and respect the sentiments of our people”, he added.Expressing his dissent over the central government’s policies such as Demonetization, the Chief Minister said that such moves led to people losing trust on the government which is a very unfortunate signal. A repercussion of which is the cash crunch that the state is facing as people are reluctant to deposit money in the banks.
The Chief Minister also asked the officials to conduct a detailed study on the increase in the prices of petrol and diesel and provide him with complete information on the same. He added that at the Niti Aaayog Governing Council meeting he will make sure to raise the issue of the currently weak service sector in the state which is a direct result of bifurcation. “The agriculture sector is doing a good job but the service sector has a low contribution which is the biggest roadblock in the economy of AP”, he stated.Special Chief Secretary, Satish Chandra, Additional Secretary to Chief Minister, V. Rajamouli, Secretary to Chief Minister Girija Shankar and Secretary (Planning), Sanjay Gupta attended the meeting along with other senior government officials.
