Chandrababu Naidu warns action against fake seeds rackets
Naidu emphasized that the targeted 20 per cent growth rate in agriculture and allied sectors should be achieved through well-planned measures.
Vijayawada: Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu has directed agriculture officials to take strict action against fake seeds rackets that cause losses to farmers and rigorously implement the ‘traceability and certification’ system.
Addressing a conference of ministers and secretaries in Amaravati on Tuesday, Naidu asked officials to ensure that no pothole-ridden roads exist anywhere in the state.
He asked the officials to identify and take strict action against those selling counterfeit seeds in the market, including revoking their licences and imposing heavy penalties.
Naidu emphasized that the targeted 20 per cent growth rate in agriculture and allied sectors should be achieved through well-planned measures. Promote high-income horticultural crops and encourage farmers to cultivate superior crops, he said.
The CM also asked officials to fully regulate the PDF rice recycling process by ensuring that only high-quality grains are supplied to farmers. He called for promoting natural farming on a large scale and implementing a door-delivery system for such produce.
He sought extensive promotion of drip irrigation and said officials must take steps for its widespread adoption.
“The government is fully prepared to support the livelihoods of fishermen and sheep farmers,” he said, adding that officials to formulate and implement relevant action plans accordingly. He said financial assistance for fishermen would be provided in April. Officials must take steps to implement the ‘Rythu Bharosa’ scheme for farmers.
The CM directed officials to make all government services accessible through WhatsApp so that people no longer need to visit government offices. “Increase the number of services available via WhatsApp. Currently, 161 services are being provided, he said and he urged officials to explore the possibility of expanding this to 500 services within the next 45 days.
Additionally, within the next three to six months, the entire government service system should be available to the public via WhatsApp, he said.
Naidu made it clear that the integration of services is non-negotiable, and he set a strict deadline of 45 days for the addition of 500 plus services to the Mana Mitra platform. The goal is to ensure that every government service, including revenue-related matters and other essential services, is available through WhatsApp, offering a user-friendly and efficient digital governance solution,” he said.
The CM announced that TTD services will also be integrated into WhatsApp Governance and the possibility of enabling movie ticket bookings through WhatsApp will also be explored. Naidu said, “Within just one week (since February 4), a total of 2,64,555 transactions were recorded.
Among these, 41 per cent (1,10,761) were financial transactions and 43.1 per cent (1,14,119) were information requests. In one week, government departments and agencies collected `54.73 lakh through WhatsApp transactions. The education department saw the highest number of transactions (82,938). Currently, 85 per cent of transactions are completed, while 35 per cent failed due to server speed issues,” the CM said.
Naidu asked officials to coordinate with the central government regarding national highway projects and railway bridge constructions. He stressed that improving connectivity across the state should be a top priority.
He stressed the importance of aligning with the central government’s Project Monitoring Group model rather than attempting to develop a new framework from scratch. He directed all relevant departments to fully adopt the PMG approach by the end of the month to enhance efficiency and transparency in project execution.
