The new Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh and YSR Congress leader, Y.S Jaganmohan Reddy, has during the past five days, been busy reviewing, reversing and renaming many of the schemes and projects launched by the previous Telugu Desam Government led by N. Chandrababu Naidu.

Ever since he assumed charge in Vijayawada as the new Chief Minister last Thursday, he has been busy holding these review meetings with officials.

Projects halted

He has given officials instructions to halt projects in different stages in Amaravati, the new capital, and elsewhere in the state. Only after a thorough review and scrutiny of all the projects, would a decision be taken on them. He has alleged in the past large-scale corruption in many of these projects, including the mega Polavaram irrigation project on the Godavari. After a thorough review, he wants to take recourse to a process of reverse tendering to bring down the costs of these projects and also to expose the alleged corruption by the TDP.

After assuming charge as the new CM, at the time of the swearing-in, he had hiked the old age pension to Rs 2,250 per month from Rs 2,000, and announced that it would gradually be hiked to Rs 3,000 a month over the next few years. The scheme was named after his late father and former chief minister, Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy.

Anna canteens now Rajanna canteens

Anna canteens were launched in the state by the TDP Government a few months before the Assembly and General Elections, to provide meals to people at Rs 5, in fulfilment of a promise made by the party in the 2014 election manifesto. These canteens were called Anna canteens after the late N.T Rama Rao, the former chief minister and founder of the Telugu Desam Party. Henceforth, they will be known as Rajanna canteens, after the late Y.S Rajasekhara Reddy.

YSR Arogya Sri

A medical insurance scheme launched by the late Dr. Y.S Rajasekhara Reddy to provide treatment for the poor in corporate hospitals was named NTR Vaidya Seva by the previous TDP government. The new Government has taken a decision to reverse the decision and name the scheme after the late Dr. Y.S Rajasekhara Reddy. The new CM has also given instructions to officials to plug loopholes in the scheme and make it more effective and useful to the public.

The salaries of Aasha workers in the state have been hiked from the present Rs 3,000 a month to Rs 10,000 in fulfilment of a promise made by the YSR Congress in its election manifesto.

Belt shops

The new CM has also left instructions with the state excise officials to take immediate steps for the phase-wise imposition of prohibition in the state. In the first phase, an awareness campaign should be taken up to educate the public and also to remove belt shops in the state immediately. (The unauthorised liquor outlets attached to an authorised, licensed liquor shop are known as belt shops in Andhra Pradesh.)

The new CM has also left instructions with irrigation officials to complete the Polavaram project within two years, and also to initiate steps to recover from the Centre Rs 4,000-4,5000 crores already spent by the previous TDP Government on the project from state coffers. The project is a national project, the cost of which should be borne entirely by the Centre, barring the power component.

It is said that the new CM will announce the new Cabinet on June 8. On Tuesday he visited his Guru, Sri Sri Sri Swaroopanandendra Saraswathi of Sarada Peetham at Chinamushidiwada in Visakhapatnam district, and sought his blessings. Special pujas were performed to the presiding deity, Raja Syamala Devi, on the occasion of his visit to the ashram and the Swamiji blessed the new CM.

The new CM also reversed a decision taken by the previous Chandrababu Naidu government withdrawing the general consent by the state government for the CBI to conduct investigations and raids in the state. The Chandrababu government took the decision in 2018, alleging that the Modi government was using the CBI to wreak political vendetta on its opponents.

The new Government has issued orders restoring the general consent, allowing the CBI to conduct investigations and raids in the state without the prior permission of the state government.

It is generally perceived and believed that the new Government has taken the step to facilitate a CBI probe into the alleged misdeeds of the previous TDP government.

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