By Md Ilyas
Copyright deccanchronicle
Vijayawada: Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu on Tuesday directed district collectors to speed up land regularisation and revenue reforms, while outlining the benefits of the latest GST 2.0 reforms.He said the present GST reforms would help AP citizens save nearly Rs 8,000 crore a year, this being a presumptive figure. Reviewing the functioning of the revenue, land administration and excise departments on the second day of the collectors’ conference in Amaravati on Tuesday, Naidu stressed the need for transparency and efficiency in governance.Highlighting GST reforms, Naidu said a notification on tax reductions would be issued on Sept 19 and sustained campaigns would be launched from Sept 22 to Oct 22 at the village level. “Citizens must clearly know how much tax has been reduced on each commodity. Life and health insurance are now exempt from GST. Awareness must be created on the benefits of the universal health card,” he said.Naidu stressed that massive awareness campaigns, similar to the flagship “Yogaandhra” programme, should be undertaken to explain the GST reforms to the people. Ministers, collectors and local representatives should participate in this.The Chief Minister said the government aims to enhance public satisfaction with welfare policies. Referring to the free sand supply scheme, he said, “The government is losing Rs 1,000 crore revenue annually but ensuring free sand for people without expecting a paisa in return, except for transportation costs. District collectors must see that people are not harassed in accessing sand.”On mining revenues, Naidu asked officials to assess why income in some districts had dipped drastically and try to improve value addition in mineral-rich regions. Revenue realisation and GSDP growth would continue to be reviewed every month, he noted.On liquor scams, Naidu said the excise department should function as a “mirror of transparency”. From procurement to manufacturing and retail sales, every process must follow global standards with mandatory online transactions. He asked officials to establish world-class rehabilitation and de-addiction centres.Reviewing the Swachhandra endeavour as also the functioning of the municipal, Panchayati Raj and other departments, he recalled that AP took up cleanliness programmes in the united AP state after studying Singapore’s policies. “Swachh means not only cleanliness, the people’s thinking process should change. Sadly, some people have the habit of throwing garbage onto the road from their homes or throwing the packs in drains, which block them and obstruct the flow of water.”Naidu pointed out that, in the past, “We organised a Happy Sunday programme in which people used to showcase their talent. We formed laughing clubs, which too worked well.” He advised officials to encourage various entities to organise such fairs yet again.He said Swachhtahi Seva should be undertaken from Sept 17 to Oct 2.Regarding circular economy policies, the CM called for establishment of one circular economy park in five zones and ensure that solid and liquid waste management is done properly and also construction of magic drains.Naidu urged ministers, officials and collectors to keep their offices and premises clean, work with the concept of net zero waste, promote the idea of ‘waste to wealth’ and increase the green cover.The CM suggested to Deputy CM, Pawan Kalyan, to involve the corporate sector in increasing the green cover.
