Andhra Pradesh achieving the top rank in the Ease of Doing Business (EoDB) given by the Business Reform Action Plan for the year 2020-21 has come as a surprise, especially when the State has seen no new investments and the existing industries are slowly shifting base, BJP Rajya Sabha member G.V.L. Narasimha Rao has said.
Addressing the media here on Friday, Mr. Narasimha Rao said the ranking was not commensurate with the ground realities.
“I will take up the issue with the authorities concerned and try to find out the basis on which Andhra Pradesh is ranked as number one,” he said.
Concurring with the view, former MLA P. Vishnu Kumar Raju said that ranking should been given for “cost of doing business.”
Mr. Narasimha Rao also criticised the State government for failing to control price rise on the one hand and for imposing new taxes. Bus charges had gone up by more than 15% in the recent times, he added.
The Union Government had reduced the cess on excise duty twice in the last six months, but the State government did not make use of it, he observed.
Criticising the State government for not giving a satisfactory answer on what had actually happened to the ₹800 crore that had gone missing from the GPF accounts of the employees, Mr. Narasimha Rao said excuses such as technical error or CFMS mistake sounded lame.
‘Focus is on A.P.’
Stating that the BJP was now concentrating on Andhra Pradesh, he said the party turned out to be the natural choice after both the YSRCP and TDP failed to deliver.
“We are serious about forming the government in both the Telugu States, and that is why the party’s national conference is being held in Hyderabad from July 2 after a gap of almost two decades. The visit of top party leaders such as J.P. Nadda and a number of Union Ministers to Andhra Pradesh is a step in that direction,” Mr. Narasimha Rao said.
“We will be going to the people to find out if the Central government schemes are reaching them properly. We will also tell them that most of the welfare schemes the State government rolled out are actually funded by the Union Government,” he said.
Referring to the view that the Centre was supporting the State government in availing loans, he said, “Post COVID-19, some benefits have been extended to the States, but there is no extra benefit. The State is entering a debt trap and is trying to conceal and hoodwink the Union government by obtaining loans in the name of corporations. But the Centre has begun to tighten the screws on the State,” Mr. Narasimha Rao said.
On the Metro Rail project, he said though the Union government had agreed to fund the project in 2015, it had so far not received any project report.
‘JSP alone is our ally’
Referring to electoral alliances, he made it clear that the BJP would not have any truck with either the TDP or the YSRCP. The Jana Sena Party was our only ally, he added.
Speaking about the upcoming projects in Visakhapatanm, he said the fishing harbour was being modernised at a cost of ₹160 crore and it would be ready by December 2023. The cruise terminal coming up would be the most modern one in the country and would be ready by April 2023, he added.
