Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan questioned the accountability of officials in preventing illegal rice smuggling. He pointed out that despite the efforts of Civil Supplies Minister Nadendla Manohar, who established three check posts at Kakinada port, the issue persists. Kalyan criticized the inaction of the Collector and Superintendent of Police (SP), emphasizing their responsibility in curbing such illegal activities. He said if the Vigilance Department was doing a good job, the minister would not have had to intervene. While addressing a collectors' conference at the Secretariat, he said, "We are rectifying the governance mistakes of the past. Our government intends to follow democratic principles and live up to public expectations. We can make policies but it is for the collectors to implement those policies at the grassroots level."
Disapproving the previous regime's failure to face resistance, Kalyan said not even senior officials and bureaucrats had opposed the decisions by the previous government. He says arbitrary decisions, from movie tickets to sand mining policies, were allowed to go unnoticed. He attributed this kind of administrative passivity in bringing a debt of ₹10 lakh crore to the state. "Officials spoke not against unconstitutional acts of mal-administration, in so far as they compromised the administration, leaving the masses unprotected. When other states win acclaims for virtuous administration, Andhra Pradesh should clear its negative image," says Kalyan. And according to him, joint efforts in the hands of Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu are necessary in achieving a better governance administration system.
Kalyan extolled the vision that Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu has for the state: "We are lucky to be working under such visionary leadership. The state can really scale remarkable growth by aligning with his plans. It's crucial that the administrative systems together work towards strengthening it all towards the development goals," Kalyan urged the officials while talking about the successful programs such as bringing the tech giant Google to Andhra Pradesh.
