The Andhra Pradesh state government would withdraw the garbage tax from today. This was announced by chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu at Machilipatnam. He said that the previous YSR Congress government had imposed the garbage tax on the people. The present government found it irrelevant and would withdraw it from October 3, the chief minister said.
He further said that the issue has to be discussed in the next state cabinet meeting. The government would issue orders withdrawing the garbage tax across the state after the cabinet meeting, he said. He wanted people to keep their surroundings clean and neat. He also wanted them to cooperate with the sanitation staff in keeping their areas clean and neat.
The chief minister congratulated Dr Prasad and his wife for keeping Challapalli in Krishna district as clean town. He said that the couple have been working hard for the past ten years to keep Challapalli clean and neat.
Chandrababu Naidu said that his government had declared 110 municipalities in the state as open defecation free municipalities in the past. The TDP government had constructed 2,51,736 toilets across the state, he said. However, the successive YSR Congress government had neglected the programme from 2019 to 2024, he said.
He further said that the previous government did not focus on the cleanliness in the state. There is over 85 lakh tons of garbage to be cleared in the state. The present government had come up with plans to clear this by the end of this year, he said. He further said that he had already instructed Minister for Municipal Administration, Dr P Narayana, to ensure that this garbage is cleared by the end of this year.
Chandrababu Naidu said that Machilipatnam MP Vallabhaneni Balashowry had requested him to name the new medical collage being constructed in the town in the honour of freedom fighter Pingali Venkaiah. He said he would name the medical college after the freedom fighter who had given national flag to the country.
The chief minister said that he had fought against the floods in Vijayawada. When the Budameru rivulet submerged the city, he said he stayed in the bus at the collectorate and monitored the relief operations. He congratulated the sanitation staff for keeping Vijayawada clean after the flood water receded. He blamed the YSR Congress government for neglecting Budameru rivulet in the last five years. He said that his government had sanctioned Rs 60 crore for the modernization and strengthening of the Budameru bunds. But the successive government cancelled the works, leading to the flood water entering the city, he said.
