Visakhapatnam: AP CM YS Jagan Disburses Rs 261 Crore Under YSR Vahana Mitra

VISAKHAPATNAM: For the fourth year in a row, Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy has credited Rs 261.52 crore into the bank accounts of 2,61,516 beneficiaries under the YSR Vahana Mithra scheme by providing financial assistance of Rs 10,000 each for the eligible auto rickshaw and taxi drivers.

Donning the uniform of khaki shirt of an auto driver, the Chief Minister participated in the Vahana Mitra event at Andhra University Grounds here on Friday and interacted with the beneficiaries. He also sat in the driving seat of an auto with a lady driver and interacted with her.

Later, addressing the gathering, the Chief Minister said that the amount of Rs 10,000 is for the recurring expenses like insurance, fitness certificate, and maintenance of the vehicle, which was promised during the 3,648 km padayatra. He stated that the scheme was also provided during the Covid crisis, to stand by them in tough times. He urged the drivers to get insurance and fitness certificates for their vehicles, as passengers will also experience safe travel.

Recalling the three-year governance, the Chief Minister stated that over Rs 1000 crores was spent towards Vahana Mitra, benefiting lakhs of drivers and those who are left out can still apply at village/ward secretariats. He said that his government is moving ahead prioritizing both welfare and development and stated that almost Rs 1.62 lakh crore was directly credited into the beneficiaries' accounts in a transparent manner without any corruption or discrimination. He asked people to notice the difference between the previous and present government, where the current government is delivering welfare schemes, while the previous one only focused on ‘looting and sharing’ instead of serving the poor.

Hitting back at the opposition parties, Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy recalled that auto and taxi drivers have been looted in the previous government with taxes and penalties. Going into the details, he said that Rs 6.5 crore had been collected towards compounded fees, tax and penalties from the auto drivers between 2014-15. In 2015-16, Rs 7.39 crore, In 2016-17, Rs 9.68 crore, in 2017-18 Rs 10.19 crore and in 2018-19 almost Rs 7.09 crore have been collected. Whereas in the current government, only Rs 68.44 lakhs have been collected through penalties and taxes in 2019-20 and in 2020-21 the amount decreased to Rs 35 lakhs only.

Asserting that YSRCP government is committed to the welfare of the poor, the Chief Minister made it clear that he had honesty and commitment and doesn't bother about the false propaganda of Chandrababu Naidu and his gang, as long as people’s support and God’s blessings are with him.
The Chief Minister also sanctioned development works in Visakhapatnam during his visit.

Ministers Boodi Mutyalanaidu, Kottu Satyanarayana, Botsa Satyanarayana, Pinipe Vishwarup, Gudivada Amarnath, Vidadala Rajani, TTD Chairman YV Subbareddy, MPs, MLCs, MLAs, other public representatives and officials were present.

After the scheme disbursal, the Chief Minister conducted an aerial survey of the of flood-hit areas of Godavari delta along the river, on Friday. He instructed officials to provide rescue, relief and rehabilitation to people of flood-hit areas.

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