The Krishna River Water Board has instructed the Andhra Pradesh government to immediately stop the lift irrigation projects being constructed to lift water from the Krishna River. The Board halted the Rayalaseema Lift Irrigation Project and ordered the State not to move forward. Also, the Board wrote a letter to the AP Regime asking for a detailed report on any new project being taken up as per the AP Reorganization Act 2014.

The latest orders came as a big jolt to CM Jagan Reddy’s promises to give irrigation water to nook and corner of the Rayalaseema region. The previous TDP regime also made additional efforts to supply water to Seema. Chandrababu Naidu used to claim having supplied water to Pulivendula, the native assembly constituency of YS family.

Now, the water disputes are arising with Telangana making objections to the AP projects. The Krishna Board says that it will send reports on new projects to the Central Water Commission and the Apex Council. The Board has written a formal letter to Special Chief Secretary Adityanath Das.

Why is the Krishna Board taking a tough stand after having ignored these projects previously? Analysts say that the Board cannot remain a silent spectator when any one State comes out with objections. With neighbouring states strongly trying to protect their water resources and rights, AP is expected to face greater hurdles in implementing its water projects in future.

Former Finance Minister Yanamala Ramakrishnudu has alleged that in just one year of its regime, the YSRCP government took such massive loans that were equal to the total loans procured by the previous governments over a period of 30 years. The credit rating of Andhra Pradesh has now touched a new low even as its interest and principal loan payments are expected to touch Rs. 1 lakh Cr in the next four years. The State’s financial crisis was fast becoming unmanageable because of the ‘failed’ policies of the ruling party.

The TDP Floor Leader in Council said AP has already reached 4th place in the country in giving highest guarantees for loan repayments while, at the same time, the State has climbed to 6th place in taking largest loans. In his first 14 months rule itself, YS Jaganmohan Reddy has become popular as a ‘reverse growth CM’ and created a record thanks to cancellation of PPEs and reverse tendering. At the current rate of taking loans, the interest and principal repayments would touch Rs. 50,000 Cr per year. By the time the YSRCP 5-year-rule ends, these repayments would reach about Rs. 1 lakh Cr per year. The Credit Rating was badly hit because of the heavy dependence of the State on loans. In future, nobody would come forward to lend loans to AP. The State would fall into total bankruptcy due to total lack of development as well as welfare.

The TDP leader said that the average loans taken by successive governments since 1956 till 2020 came to Rs. 5,000 Cr per year while the Jagan Reddy regime got dubious distinction of procuring Rs. 70,000 Cr in just one year, during 2019-`20. Along with loans taken by YSRCP rule, the total outstanding loans of AP now stood at Rs. 3,04,500 Cr. Going by the current trend, a total of Rs. 3.5 lakh Cr loans would be brought in YSRCP’s five-year rule at the rate of Rs. 70,000 Cr per year.

Accusing the CM of taking all reverse policies, Mr. Ramakrishnudu said selling away the government lands in the name of ‘Build AP Mission’ was another bankrupt policy. Actually, it was a ‘Build YCP Mission’ being used by the ruling party leaders to grab prime lands at cheap rates. This would lead to lack of any government lands for infrastructure and development projects in future. Even the courts were commenting these days asking whether Andhra Pradesh has become bankrupt. The government should take this as a wake-up call. All the goodwill of AP as a favourite investment destination was lost because of the discredited and chaotic policies of CM Jagan. The Chief Minister has no time for review of any project or programme, which was why nobody was talking about what was happening really. Sand shortage crisis was created because of the ruling party leaders’ greed only. Along with that, the Coronavirus epidemic has dealt another serious blow.

Mr. Ramakrishnudu deplored that not a single project was taken up or completed, nor a single road was laid nor a single bridge was constructed in the past one year. The daily incomes of the people were badly hit because of sand shortage and thoughtless financial policies. At such a juncture, the proposal to take massive loans from foreign private firms was another ruinous and disastrous policy. Jagan Reddy should take responsibility for all the destruction that was going on. He should set aside vendetta and start reconstructing the State.

With an increasing number of his colleagues contracting the deadly virus, Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy perhaps for the first time was seen wearing a mask at the Raj Bhavan for the swearing-in ceremony of the two ministers who were inducted into his Cabinet on Wednesday.

The Chief Minister and many of his legislators attended the recently held two-day Assembly session without wearing masks.

Although the state government had announced a fine of Rs 1,000 for not wearing masks in urban areas and Rs 500 in rural areas, the public representatives, including the Chief Minister, were seldom seen wearing a face mask.

However, the Chief Minister seems to have jolted out of his stupor with an increasing number of his colleagues contracting Covid-19 including his second-in-command Vijayasai Reddy. After Vijayasai Reddy and Ambati Rambabu testing positive for coronavirus, a worried Jagan was finally seen wearing a mask at the swearing-in ceremony of the two ministers at the Raj Bhavan.

The YSRCP leaders were blamed for being ‘Super Spreaders’ of the deadly virus with their irresponsible rallies and meetings since the day the pandemic outbreak in the state. The YSRCP leaders had often thrown caution to the wind even as the Opposition TDP had advised the ruling party leaders to wear face masks. As a matter of fact TDP president and former Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu and party general secretary Lokesh have urged Jaganmohan Reddy to lead by example and wear a facemask when in public. However, Jagan and his colleagues continued to appear in public meetings without a face mask.

Several YSR Congress legislators have been infected with the Coronavirus in AP. Tenali MLA Annabathuni Siva Kumar, Ponnur MLA Kilari Venkata Rosaiah Kodumuru MLA Sudhakar were tested positive for Covid-19 earlier. Deputy Chief Minister Amzath Basha and Sullurpeta MLA Kiliveti Sanjeevaiah were recently shifted to private hospitals in Hyderabad. Another Deputy Chief Minister Narayana Swamy and his family were in home quarantine after two security personnel at his residence in Puttur tested positive for the COVID-19.

Andhra Pradesh has reported a total of 4,944 new Covid-19 cases and death of 62 Covid-19 patients in the last 24 hours. The state now has 58,668 cases.

Since CM Jaganmohan Reddy came to power, Andhra Pradesh is facing both natural and man-made disasters. It all began with the unchecked sand smuggling that resulted in severe sand shortage and unprecedented collapse of the whole construction sector in the state. Masons, coolies, plumbers, electricians and other workers dependent on the construction industry were thrown on the roads. Many workers committed suicides. More than that, thousands of crores of investments were stopped. Real estate investors shifted their base from AP to Hyderabad, Bangalore, Chennai and even Bhubaneswar. On the other hand, the ruling YSRCP leaders and close confidants of Jagan Reddy were gathering more financial muscle. It was evident from the seizure of Rs. 5.27 Cr from AP persons in just one catch in Tamil Nadu border.

Even for educational opportunities, most youth joined engineering colleges in other states thinking they would find jobs in IT hubs in the respective metro cities. In the first few months of the Jagan regime, workers migrated to other cities but they had to migrate back to AP following Coronavirus restrictions and loss of work opportunities. Even multi-national companies including Kia Motors tried to relocate to other States unable to bear the victimisation from YSRCP leaders.

Now, a more threatening situation is emerging in AP. Complaints are coming against quality of food and facilities at Government quarantine centres. Serious Corona cases with previous health issues are forced to go to other States. Even those with mild symptoms of the virus are preferring to join corporate hospitals in surrounding states. The ruling party leaders were standing in the front row going to other States for Covid treatment.

In a significant decision, Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy on Monday decided to fill the posts of chairmen and directors of BC corporations’ by the end of this month. A decision to this effect was taken at a high-level ministerial review meeting at the CM’s camp office in Tadepalli on the formation of various sub-caste corporations within the BC community.

At the meeting, the Chief Minister expressed his willingness to constitute 52 BC corporations. The Chief Minister resolved to set up separate corporations for the BCs in three categories on the basis of population (ranging from 10,000 to 1,00,000; 1,00,000 to 10,00,000; and above 10,00,000).

Accordingly, Jagan has decided to constitute BC corporations – six corporations with population of 10 lakh, 27 corporations for population above 1 lakh and below 10 lakh and 19 corporations with population below 1 lakh. The constitutions of BC corporations based on population was recommended by a committee constituted by the party before the 2019 elections with Janga Krishna Murthy as its chairman.

The high-level meeting was attended by Deputy chief minister Pilli Subhash Chandrabose, ministers Shankara Narayana, Botsa Satyanarayana, Dharmana Krishnadas and Mopidevi among others. Jagan had directed the ministers to ensure that the welfare schemes reach the respective BC corporations.

Why was Finance Minister Buggana Rajendranath Reddy not able to defend on why their government was preferring high interest loans of 8 to 10 per cent from foreign private firms while loans at far less interest rates were available? The World Bank, the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, the Asian Development Bank and the Japan International Cooperation Agency were giving massive loans at very low interests of 1.4 to 3.2 per cent.

Raising this point, TDP spokesperson K. Pattabhi demanded an investigation into the money laundering resorted to by over four suitcase companies being run by the YS family in Chennai at a single address. The seizure of Rs. 5.27 Cr from a car allegedly having Minister Balineni Srinivasa Reddy’s sticker was just an example of how the ruling YSRCP leaders were looting AP people’s money and moving it out of the country to turn it into white money through their trusts. Mr. Rajendranath claimed that the AP revenue receipts stood at Rs. 1.14 lakh Cr for 2019-`20 under the YSRCP government. But the fact is that this was achieved during the previous year, 2018-`19, under the TDP regime. There was a 37.9 per cent fall in revenue in the first one year rule of Mr. Jaganmohan Reddy. The TDP hit back saying that obviously, Buggana was getting confused as he was unable to make wrong projections in a convincing manner. It was clear that the Minister’s confusion was because he was under tremendous pressure from the Chief Minister to attack the Opposition TDP leaders whether there was logic or not.

TDP said Mr. Rajendranath Reddy has neither experience nor moral standing to find fault with former Finance Minister Yanamala Ramakrishnudu on the budget figures and calculations. Mr. Pattabhi Ram asserted that Mr. Ramakrishnudu’s analysis was correct that the AP income came down by 37.95 per cent from Rs. 1.78 lakh Cr to Rs. 1.10 lakh Cr under YSRCP rule. But in a very ignorant manner, Mr. Rajendranath Reddy was claiming that there was just a 2.2 per cent decrease. This was nothing but a comedy skit being played by the Minister in order to betray the people of the state. The revenue expenditure has increased by 6.96 per cent from Rs. 1.28 lakh Cr in 2018-`19 to Rs. 1.37 lakh Cr in 2019-2020.