Jagan takes oath as CM; promises transparent govt

Yeduguri Sandinti Jaganmohan Reddy took oath as the chief minister of Andhra Pradesh here on Thursday. Exactly at 12.23 pm, state Governor ESL Narasimhan administered the oath of office and secrecy to the YSRCP chief in the presence of Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao, DMK Chief MK Stalin and general public at the Indira Gandhi stadium in Vijayawada. Jagan’s mother Vijayamma, wife Bharathi Reddy and sister Sharmila were also present.

Addressing the public as chief minister for the first time, Jagan made his first decision to hike the old age pensions from the existing Rs 2000 to Rs 2250 immediately, with a promise to take it to Rs 3000 in annual increments. He signed the necessary documents to release funds, June onwards. The new chief minister also declared that four lakh young men and women will be absorbed as 'Village Volunteers' with a monthly salary of Rs 5000 till they wish to continue in the job.

“Every 50 households will have a volunteer who will bring the village administration to the door steps of the people. They will act as a link between the people and the 'Village secretariat' which will have ten government employees. This way we will be giving direct employment to 1, 60,000 unemployed youth of the state,” Jaganmohan Reddy said.

He also proposed a call centre that will allow anyone to get in touch with him directly in case of demand for bribes or delay in implementation of government schemes. “Work has to be completed within 72 hours after seeking help. There must be door-to-door delivery of services,” he assured.

Warning erring contractors of major projects in the state, Jagan said that he will not hesitate in cancelling contractors who have failed to complete projects in time. “We will introduce reverse tendering process. By which we are sure of saving certain percentage of funds that otherwise would have gone into the pockets of the contractors,” he said.

He also mooted the idea of setting up a Judicial Commission with the advice of the Chief Justice of the High Court to advise the government on tenders before handing over the works to make the whole process transparent. At the same length, Jagan also warned the media to be impartial or to face defamation.

Earlier, K Chandrasekhar Rao wishing the new chief minister many more terms, has said that both the Telugu states must join hands to save every drop of river water. Stalin said that Jagan must live up to his late father YS Rajasekhar Reddy’s legacy.