Public service delivery under lens as Naidu plans surprise inspections from April

Vijayawada: Chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Monday announced that he would launch surprise inspections across Andhra Pradesh from April to assess the delivery of public services, cautioning officials to correct shortcomings wherever services were found inadequate.Addressing a public meeting after inaugurating housing projects and participating in housewarming ceremonies in Tirupati district's Naidupeta, the chief minister said governance would be continuously improved based on public feedback. Naidu handed over 2,50,983 TIDCO and PMAY houses built at more than 30 locations across the state. He said 15,659 houses were completed in Tirupati district alone.Naidu inspected G+3 TIDCO housing complexes at Puduru near Naidupeta, which include internal roads, parks, walking tracks, anganwadi centres, schools, and later joined beneficiaries during housewarming ceremonies. He directed officials to install rooftop solar panels under the PM Surya Ghar scheme for every house and to provide energy-efficient appliances, noting that the state has signed an agreement with the Bureau of Energy Efficiency.The chief minister announced that another 4.5 lakh houses would be completed and handed over by the end of this year, with housewarming ceremonies planned in June and Sept. He said 5.5 lakh houses were built and distributed in 21 months since the alliance govt came to power. He reiterated that the govt's objective was to ensure there would be no homeless poor in the state by 2029, for which over 17 lakh houses would need to be constructed.Naidu said that while 8.19 lakh houses were completed between 2014 and 2019, only 6.5 lakh houses were built during the previous govt's five-year tenure. He alleged that the YSRCP regime dismantled systems, diverted housing funds, and attempted construction in non-habitable areas such as graveyards, streams and marshy lands, leading to misuse of ₹3,109 crore of public funds. He also alleged that ₹174 crore paid by beneficiaries was diverted and announced that refunds were being issued to 22,000 beneficiaries.Highlighting March as a record month for welfare, Naidu said pensions worth nearly ₹60,000 crore were disbursed in 21 months. He said ₹2,676 crore was credited to 47 lakh farmers under Annadata Sukhibhava, a job calendar with 10,060 posts was issued for unemployed youth, and free RTC bus travel was extended to 12.76 lakh persons with disabilities.On fisheries, the chief minister said the entry of fishermen from neighbouring states into Andhra Pradesh waters would be curbed. He announced the deployment of two patrol boats for the Nellore coast and said additional boats would be arranged if needed. He also said the fishing ban allowance was increased to ₹20,000, with ₹259 crore credited to 1.29 lakh fishermen's families.