Naidu gets dressing down from Pant

In the meeting yesterday, Pant took objection to the level of borrowings undertaken by the Andhra Pradesh government. He said both the Ninth Five Year Plan and the projections in the Tenth Five Year Plan, were being financed by borrowings, ‘‘which is a matter of concern for a forward looking state like Andhra Pradesh’’.

According to Pant, the Tenth Plan is being financed by borrowings to the extent of 59 per cent and Central Assistance to 48 per cent, while the contribution of state’s own fund continues to be negative.

He said that though Andhra Pradesh has initiated a number of economic reforms, the effects of privatisation, increase in Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and other reforms are yet to start reflecting in the composition of the Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP).

Even on the IT sector, Pant had negative comments to make. He was not pleased with the state’s literacy rate of 61.11 per cent as against the national average of 65.38 per cent saying that ‘‘it does not go well with the IT image of the state’’.

On the agriculture front, Pant was not appreciative with the tendency of the state government to take up more schemes than are warranted by available resources.

‘‘It is a matter of concern that major irrigation projects are languishing without completion,’’ he said. However, he praised the government for availing the fast track facility under AIBP to complete three major irrigation projects in a year’s time.