Roads turned into death traps under YSRCP regime: TDP

Mangalagiri: Senior TDP leader and former Minister S Chandramohan Reddy on Friday slammed the Jagan Mohan Reddy government for trying to cover up its 'failures' by launching a misinformation campaign against the previous Chandrababu Naidu regime.

Somireddy asserted that the TDP government laid roads for over 6,694 km by spending Rs 3,690 crore but Minister Peddireddi Ramachandra Reddy was saying that only 330 km roads were laid at that time. Everybody knows how the roads and highways have turned into death traps due to the utter negligence of the Jagan Reddy regime. The present government was not even repairing existing roads not to speak of laying new ones anywhere in the State.

Addressing a press conference here, the TDP leader deplored that a situation was now created in AP that the people were afraid of coming out on the roads for fear of meeting with fatal accidents. The R&B department existed only on paper and it was nearly closed for all practical purposes. The vehicle users were falling in the potholes and losing their lives but the government was not taking any measures to carry out repairs. The Chief Minister should explain why road works which were taken up at a cost of Rs 4,500 crore were stopped immediately after the YSRCP came to power.

Somireddy recalled how the previous TDP rule brought approvals for Rs 6,400-crore loans from the New Development Bank (NDB). The Jagan regime cancelled this project on the pretext of not having interest to pay its 30 per cent share, he said.

This was despite the fact that the repayments could be spread over 20 to 30 years. Has the Jagan Reddy government got stuck in such a bankrupt situation that it could not give matching grants?

The TDP leader termed it as deplorable that R&B Minister M Sankaranarayana was speaking in such a manner that he did not know the meanings of the NDB, AEB and plan and non-plan expenditure. Moreover, the Minister was making laughable statements that all the road projects would be completed in one year from now. The previous TDP rule laid 2,634 km roads under the PMJSY. The TDP laid another 1,370 km at Rs 848 crore under the SC sub-plan and 2,230 km roads at Rs 711 crore under the NREGS funds. It has spent Rs 594 crore and converted 1,277 km of gravel roads into BT roads.

Somireddy said that the contractors were not coming forward to take up road works in AP because they were unable to pay huge commissions to the ruling party leaders. The TDP rule ensured transparency in the CFMS method of making payments.

But now, Finance Secretary Satyanarayana was making payments only to those firms which would pay 15 per cent. The TDP implemented 'first come first serve' method but now the Jagan regime brought in the Commissions Raj.