AP government pampers Naidu's Kuppam

HYDERABAD: All roads and funds lead to only one assembly constituency in Andhra Pradesh Kuppam, represented by chief minister Chandrababu Naidu in Chittoor district. Suddenly taking up the development of Kuppam as top priority, the AP chief minister's office has directed nearly 25 departments to speedily implement one project each in the constituency.
Till date, four departments have found their projects cleared and the funds sanctioned in a matter of days if not hours. They include a model school, strengthening of a hospital, a sports complex and a horticulture pilot project. Within 24-48 hours of the proposal being submitted, government orders (GOs) were issued releasing funds for the same. In the cases where old proposals are being revived, the clearance is happening in two months time. Sources said a similar speedy execution will take place with the proposals that will be placed by the other departments in the coming days.
Take the model school for instance.The secretary of the AP Social Welfare Residential Educational Institutions Society on February 21, sent a note to the social welfare department proposing to set up a model school at Shantipuram in Kuppam constituency. Stating that CM Naidu was scheduled to visit the area on Feb 24, the secretary wanted immediate administrative sanction for Rs 25 crore for setting up the new model school exclusively for SC STs with an intake of 640 students. Social welfare principal secretary Vijay Kumar swiftly acted on the proposal and issued administrative sanction for Rs 25 crore for construction of the model school on Feb 23, exactly 48 hours later.
In the second instance, administrative sanction was issued by principal secretary, health, L V Subramanyam in just 24 hours after he received a proposal from a wing of his department.On February 20, the managing director of Andhra Pradesh Medical Services and Infrastructure Development Cor poration (APMSIDC) in a letter to the principal secretary sought administrative sanction for a proposal to strengthen the area hospital in Kuppam town at an estimated cost of Rs 8.37 crore. In just 24 hours, principal secretary Subramanyam accorded administrative sanction for the same.
In the third instance, the horticulture commissioner identified Kuppam region as an area having tremendous potential to expand floriculture as it is located in proximity to major cities like Chennai and Bengaluru. In no time, NABARD was requested to conduct a study on the production scope and constraints and market potential of Kuppam for floriculture. Based on the report, horticulture commissioner V Usha Rani floated a proposal in Novem ber 2014 to promote commercial floriculture in the Kuppam region for the benefit of farmers as a pilot project for approval. She also sought approval of the government to launch a pilot project for floriculture. Within two months, the land was identified and on February 21, the horticulture commissioner, in her capacity as ex-officio secretary, issued orders for taking up the pilot project at an estimated cost of Rs 3.06 crore.
In the fourth instance, a project to construct an ultra-modern sports complex, which has not taken off for the past so many years, was revived at an enhanced cost of Rs 2.3 crore. Keeping in view the chief minister's visit to the constituency on Feb 24, the department of youth affairs and sports retrieved the file pertaining to the sports complex and cleared the same on Feb 18. Similarly, the Chittoor district collector on November 7, 2014, put forth a proposal for conducting a topographical survey for setting up an airport in Kuppam.Within two months, the energy, infrastructure and investment department principal secretary cleared the file and released an amount of the Rs 14 lakh for the survey.
According to a senior official, all the department in the government are busy in formulating one scheme or the other for Kuppam. “All have been asked to propose new and innovative schemes without looking for funds. If new schemes are not possible, secretaries have been asked to revive the old projects with some modification and enhanced outlay,“ a senior official said.