Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu on Tuesday attacked former Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy and said that the previous state government had completely grabbed the land near Budameru river and misused it.
“The carelessness and mismanagement of the previous government has been a curse for the government,” Naidu said, at the Jagan Mohan Reddy premises. He said that if the Budameru river project had been completed, the state would not have faced the disaster.
Naidu’s comments came in the wake of the recent floods in Andhra Pradesh, which had a major impact on places like Vijayawada, and claimed nearly 40 lives.
Naidu said the boats were released when the Krishna river reached 11.43 meters of water due to floods, and it took about 10 days to return to normal. “If the previous governors were in charge, it would have taken six months and more to restore the situation to normal,” he added.
The Chief Minister earlier this month criticized the previous government, saying the extent of the flood damage was “due to their mistakes”. He emphasized that plans are underway to prevent these disasters in the future. “The sins committed by the previous government have become a curse for the Government,” Naidu said.
Maintaining that funds released for Polavaram and Rs 990 crore for the Panchayat Raj department were diverted, Chandrababu Naidu said the expenditure was not reflected in the accounts.
“Now we need to clear dues amounting to Rs 1,650 crore of grain farmers and loans worth Rs 10.5 lakh crore to be cleared,” the Chief Minister said.
Chandrababu had earlier called the Polavaram project a “blessing for the Government,” saying he had received Rs 12,000 crore from the Center to support the project, which he promised would be launched again soon.
He also announced several benefits for Eluru, including the construction of a bridge along the Sanivarapupeta road with a budget of Rs 15 crore.
Chandrababu Naidu said that the relief provided to the flood victims was met with a great response. Every household gets financial assistance of Rs 25,000, while those living on the first floors are given Rs 10,000 each.
The Chief Minister also revealed details of the various categories and the amount of money allocated to each victim of the floods, including insurance claims for owners of two-wheelers, three-wheelers, and four-wheelers.