AP Govt to set up 'Anna Village Malls'

Vijayawada, Oct 14: The Andhra Pradesh state will soon have Village Malls across the state.The Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu has announced that all the 29,000 ration shops across the state will be transformed as Village Malls.

As such, 6,500 malls will be set up in the first phase and called 'Anna Village Malls'.

The CM has directed the department concerned to recruit dealers for the 4,599 ration shops immediately.

The CM has also instructed that half a kg of sugar with 50 percent subsidy should be distributed to the white ration card holders from next year.

The Chief Minister said that as opposed to a district-wise approach, the department should follow a cluster-wise approach and organize the data in an integrated way.

"In a PPP mode, you must engage services to take care of all aspects of horticulture, from pre-harvest to post-harvest," he said.

Mr. Naidu has examined the reports submitted by the agriculture department and allied sectors, on Friday. The projected growth for the kharif season this year is 12 percent, while the rabi season growth rate in 2016 was 31 percent.

The CM has said that the agriculture sector must grow by 25 percent, and the state must work towards this figure with concerted effort.

Meanwhile this year, the state recorded 3.5 percent more than the normal rainfall while in districts like Nellore, Chittoor, Kadapa, and Ananthapuram, it was 20 percent more than normal.

Contingency crop seeds with a 100 percent subsidy will be distributed in Prakasam and Rayalaseema districts.