Andhra Pradesh: Decentralised development need of hour, says Jayaprakash Narayan

Centralised funding of projects without people’s direct participation will not succeed, he says

Lok Satta Party (LSP) founder-president Jayaprakash Narayan has underscored the need for decentralised development with the active participation of the people.

Centralised funding of rural roads and other infrastructure projects without the direct participation of the local people in over six lakh villages would not succeed, Dr. Jayaprakash Narayan opined while taking part in the golden jubilee celebrations of Prakasam district, organised here by the writers late on Saturday night.

Reviewing a book, ‘Swarna Prakasam’, compiled by T. Sanjeeva Rao of Telugu Association of Chennapuri in Chennai, the former bureaucrat recalled the successful implementation of the ‘Telugu Grameena Kranthi’ when he was Prakasam District Collector in the 1980s here.

About one lakh acres of land had been brought under irrigation by implementing a string of lift irrigation schemes with local farmers contributing 50% of the project cost and the Government the remaining then, he said.

Dr. Jayaprakash Narayan appreciated Chunchu Chalamaiah, who presided over the function, by recalling that he had led the farmers of Ulichi village then and completed the first lift irrigation scheme in 45 days.

Stating that his role was only to show the way and remove the hurdles, he said the enterprising local farmers did wonders by completing over 200 lift irrigation schemes one after another swiftly.

Welcoming the reorganisation of districts by the YSRCP government, he said the present dispensation should also pave the way for a vibrant local self government.