Former Union Minister Chinta Mohan on Friday drew the attention of Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu to the largescale migration of workers from Kuppam, the constituency represented by him, to Bengaluru in the neighbouring Karnataka, in search of livelihood.
At a press conference here, the Congress leader said both the Centre and the State governments had failed to stabilise prices. “They have failed to generate employment opportunities and to prevent large-scale migration of workers,” he alleged.
He said the price of tomatoes, grown on a large-scale at Madanapalle in the Chief Minister’s native district of Chittoor, had touched ₹100-a-kg, pushing the vegetable out of the reach of the common man.
Polavaram project
Referring to the Polavaram project, Dr. Chinta Mohan alleged that successive Chief Ministers had contributed to the delay. Pointing out that the Telangana government had ordered a judicial probe into the Kaleswaram project, he said the TDP-led coalition government in the Andhra Pradesh should also order a judicial probe into the Polavaram project.
The senior Congress leader said so far, funds to the tune of around ₹40,000 crore were spent on execution of Polavaram project and another ₹40,000 crore was required to complete the project. From where would these funds be generated is a million dollar question, he said.
Speaking about the plight of the thousands of families displaced by the Polavaram project, Dr. Chinta Mohan said the hapless victims continued to await justice. He said completion of major projects such as Polavaram and the Amaravati capital in the next five years was a tall order. He said Mr. Naidu, who was in a politically strong position, should try and fulfil all the promises made to the State in the AP Reorganisation Act, 2014.
