Sidda Raghava Rao

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Sidda Raghava Rao (born 10 August 1957) is an Indian politician who is an ex-Minister for Environment, Forests, Science and Technology in the Andhra Pradesh cabinet. He earlier worked as a Minister for Transport, Roads & Buildings. Born in Chimakurthy of Prakasam district (in Andhra Pradesh) to Sidda Venkata Subbamma and Sidda Venkateswarlu, Raghava Rao grew up in a large family of eight brothers. He completed his schooling at Chimakurthy and went to Bapatla to pursue intermediate. He later graduated in Commerce from Andhra University in 1977. He is an acting member for Srisailam, Shirdi and Tirupathi, AryaVysya Community's Choultries (rest houses).^{[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10]} He is known for charitable and devotional activities.

2014 Election[]

Raghava Rao's service to the party and Darsi constituency was recognised by N. Chandrababu Naidu after he was given the opportunity to contest the assembly elections held in May 2014. Raghava Rao's work in the constituency gave him a victory over his rival from the YSR Congress Party. Telugu Desam Party won the Darsi seat after 15 long years. Telugu Desam formed the government in the bifurcated state of Andhra Pradesh in June 2014.

Ministerial roles[]

Raghava Rao was made the Minister for Transport, Roads & Buildings – a critical responsibility because bifurcated Andhra Pradesh was behind other states in the country in terms of infrastructure and roads development. His primary objective was to build necessary road infrastructure that will improve domestic connectivity for industrial and social welfare.

The Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation's (APSRTC) turnaround shows how Raghava Rao achieved the targets set by Chief Minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu. Looking like modern airports, the bus stations in Andhra Pradesh underwent a transformation during 2014–16. Passenger amenities such as washrooms, waiting area etc. were designed to be new, clean and classy. Vijayawada's Pandit Nehru Bus Station exemplifies Chief Minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu's vision and Raghava Rao's hard work for the citizens. For the first time in Andhra Pradesh, 5G Wi-Fi services were provided at the Pandit Nehru Bus Station. 84 JNNURM buses equipped with GPS services were used. An additional 30 new AC buses and 311 new services were implemented during Raghava Rao's tenure as minister. APSRTC began to explore the usage of bus stations as commercial spaces for the first time to generate revenue for the corporation. Today, the commercial spaces' revenue is used to offset the losses accrued by the corporation.

Raghava Rao began this work with a sense of purpose and urgency. His primary objective was to build necessary road infrastructure that will improve domestic connectivity for industrial and social welfare.

The Roads and Buildings Department under his leadership increased roads construction significantly, connecting villages to towns, towns to cities and cities to other States. Andhra Pradesh underwent fast development. Existing State highways were repaired, new highways were laid and CC roads were laid in thousands of villages, including the remotest ones. The social and economic milieu was undergoing a rapid transformation as a result. Ports, airports, tourist places and industrial hubs were being connected through 4 lanes and 6 lanes roads across the state. With financial support from NABARD and RDF, 5,400 km (3,400 mi) of roads were developed. Raghava Rao commissioned an Australian organisation's help to evaluate the condition of 46,404 km (28,834 mi). of roads in the State with the help of advanced data procured on the ground.

Raghava Rao led a detailed project report designed for the 186-km Amaravati Outer Ring Road (ORR), for which, the centre had sanctioned a budget of Rs. 200billion. A MoU was signed at the CII Partnership Summit between the State and Centre. Because of efficient administration, Raghava Rao gained Rs. 750billion sanctioned for the six-lane national highway from Anantapur to Amaravati.

Chief Minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu has emphasized making roads safe for all. He issued specific instructions to officials focus on road safety more than income generated by the transport department. A Road Safety Council was set up with a fund of Rs. 100million. While Chandrababu Naidu acted as the council's president, Raghava Rao was vice-president.

Observing the deaths due to road accidents occurred because of two-wheeler riders not wearing head protection (helmet), Raghava Rao made it mandatory for all to wear helmets. Even though citizens felt inconvenienced in the beginning, they fully supported the government's initiative. Raghava Rao's vision was to decrease accidents from 20% to 15% by 2020. A study was carried out to identify accident prone areas for immediate repair. The Roads department moved swiftly to repair them, thus reducing accident rate. Andhra Pradesh road accidents had decreased markedly by 2015.

Chief Minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu, asked the Transport Department under Raghava Rao to change to offer 83 RTA services online, thus eliminating middlemen and making savings for the citizens. Because of the measures taken, the Transport department was able to achieve a 40% revenue growth rate during 2015–16. Compared to Rs. 15.17billion revenue in FY 2013–2014, AP Government collected Rs. 22.18billion in 2015–2016.

Awards and recognition[]

• "Indira Priyadarshini"Award by National Unity Conference, New Delhi
• "Jewel of India" International President Council, New Delhi
• "Sri Vasavi" – Vasavi Seva Samithi Guntur
• "Ghantasala Sevaratna" by Ghantasala National Arts Academy, Hyderabad
• "Sahiti Poshaka" Abhinava Krishna Devaraya’ – Akshara Sahiti – Ongole
• "Dharma Prakash ‘’ Award – 2013 at Bangalore by All India Arya Vysya Maha Sabha

References[]