Hyderabad: Both Seemandhra and Telangana need to compete with each other in developmental activities and also strictly follow fiscal discipline in order to be like Singapore.
Mr Roy Kho, the consul general of Singapore who was on a three-day trip to meet the chief ministers of the two new states, was surprised to learn that Singapore had become a household word in both the states due to the leaders promising to convert “Seemandhra into Singapore” and “Hyderabad into Singapore”.
Over a breakfast interaction with this correspondent on Wednesday, Mr Roy Kho said, “It is amazing that Singapore has become popular in the state and all parties and leaders mentioned it in their speeches and promised to make their state like Singapore.”
He observed that the leaders must also keep in mind that “Singapore was not built in a day and it took several years from the day it was liberated in 1965 to become one of the richest and strongest city states in the entire world in respect to massive development and business.”
Admitting that it was possible to convert the regions into Singapore but it needed complete dedication by political parties, the governments and the people for years, he said, “ I cannot say by when Seemandhra will attain the status of Singapore or for that matter Hyderabad; it requires a lot of hard work and commitment.”
He said if more employment through industries and other allied business establishments was to be created, more and more participation of joint ventures would be needed along with an ambience to attract investments from the world over.
“Singapore government on its own will not enter into any business agreements but there are several companies in the city state that are doing business in many countries, including India and in AP.”
“I have met Mr Chandrababu Naidu and Mr Chandrasekhar Rao. We are here to help them in providing the necessary know-how on all our development models, we are ready to receive delegations from both the states if they are interested; we can be the facilitators for the development of both the states,” the consul general said.
With rich resources, particularly in agriculture, both the states can bring revolutionary changes if they adopt some modern techniques in respect to productivity, he added.
“More than the resources, it is your commitment for development that is most crucial in these matters, a strict fiscal discipline in public expenditure is highly solicited,” Mr Roy Kho said.
However, he did not comment on the huge expenditure that both the states would be incurring in doling out subsidies and freebies.
“I cannot say anything on their priorities and local compulsions but I stress that governments should be more economically healthy and be able to pile up more funds for development expenditure,” Mr Roy Kho said.
When his attention was drawn to the frequent allegations by the Congress against Mr Chandrababu Naidu of owning a five star hotel in Singapore, Mr Roy Kho said, “It must be a rumour, as far as my knowledge, there is no such establishment of Mr Naidu in Singapore. I knew all the hotels and restaurants in Singapore and their owners.”
