Uplift of tribals gets top priority: Balaraju

Paderu (Visakhapatnam): Tribal Welfare Minister P Balaraju participated in a series of stone-laying and inaugural functions organised locally and in G Madugula mandal on Sunday. All these developmental works were being taken up with the ST Sub-Plan funds. He laid foundation-stone for ATWO office premises to be built at a cost of Rs 15 lakh at Talarisingi in Paderu mandal and inaugurated a health sub-centre constructed at a cost of Rs 9 lakh granted by the National Rural Health Mission at Maddulapanda hamlet. He also inaugurated a water works scheme worth Rs 15 lakh at Bokkella hamlet. Mr Balaraju said that the Central and the State governments were giving priority to tribal development and assured that construction of office premises for ATWOs in all mandal headquarters and godowns to store material of Education Department would be taken up. Responding to a request of the villagers of Kotlagaruvu hamlet of Paderu mandal, he sanctioned a school building, BC road, water gravity scheme and a mini-Anganwadi centre. He then inspected the works in G Madugula mandal. RDO Ganapathi Rao, Tahsildar Ramalinga Swami, ITDA DD Mallikarjuna Reddy, GCC deputy manager Pratap Reddy, ITDA officials MRG Naidu, B Appalanaidu, PVS Naidu and former ZPTC member R Usharani participated.