--classstrugggle-flipmag CS May-2019 MKP | Page 5

in the SEZs is being used as private estates by the owners. 90% of the land assigned to the SEZs is vacant. Even though Chandra Babu government is reciting Industry and allocated thousands of crores worth of land to the SEZs, nothing concrete or beneficial resulted from it. It is clear that industry development won’t happen by spending hundreds of crores on trips to Davos (WEF) or organizing partnership summits at Visakhapatnam. Destruction of Small scale Industry Micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) which are already on the decline due to competition from the comprador, monopoly companies, got the final blow through the implementation of GST. By protecting the small and medium enterprises we can sustain the local markets, provide employment to the workers and get markets for the rural handicrafts. International capital and comprador monopoly capitalist forces are hindering national capital, agriculture based industries, small and medium enterprises from sustaining and expanding. Our experience shows that without a political will to counter the monopoly forces, industry and commerce in any country cannot be developed. The policies that protect the national capital will alone lead to the development of local (national) markets, improve the purchasing power of our people and there by industrial development. The Peasantry and Work force has to unite with the patriotic, democratic, revolutionary forces to fight against the forces of feudal, comprador capital and inter- national capital which are sucking our blood and flesh, by ruining our agricultural and industrial sectors. This is the present task before us April, May - 2019 Education Education from primary to the higher education is put on the altar of privatisation. The primary and secondary schools run by the government are made to languish without the basic necessities not to talk of amenities. Thus even the poor people are forced to send children to the private schools paying exorbitant fees. While the number of universities is being increased they are not being provided even with teaching staff. Even the prestigious old universities like Andhra University are facing financial problems. While the privatisation is being placated as symbol of high standards in technical education, the reverse is the fact of the life. Hundreds of engineering colleges and medical colleges have sprouted up all around the state with the state patronage of fee reimbursement scheme. While the basic sciences and humanities finds no students, technical graduates are competing for the jobs like ateenders in banks and police constables. The entire education system has been turned into a profit making industry for private market forces while the youth facing unemployment and society cannot fulfil its needs. Health It is the responsibility of the govt to protect the health of all the people and to provide medical facilities to them. Instead, the government completely gave up its responsibility. Though the facilities in govt hospitals are meagre, people are rushing in queues because they are the only affordable sources of treatment for the majority of the people. The amount of money spent from the patients pockets became a measure for the amount of treatment they receive. The state government says it used to spend Rs.5770 per head but has now reduced it by 90%. It says, it has provided treatment to 12 lakh people through Aarogyasri in 4 years, incurring 5330 crores. More than 80% of Aarogyasri cases are handled by private corporate hospitals means more than 80% of Aarogyasri budget is flowing into the hands of private players. Even employee EHS services are diverted to private hospitals. The result is, whenever the government delays clearing their dues (often goes upto 500 crores), they stop providing treatment to the people. i.e. their medical services now became uncertain. Economy of the State It became a chorus song for the TDP and its leaders that the state is facing financial problems due to bifurcation. But they never bothered to overcome these problems by solving them in consultation with the centre and Telangana state as the ruling elites at the centre and in both telugu states are interested only in raking up regional sentiments to hide the real situation from the people. Under this pretext, the government of AP is imposing taxes on the people. Before the GST, the commercial tax collections are around Rs. 10,000 crore. During the current year, the GST collections from the state have rising to above the Rs.49,000 crore. Similarly, the revenue from liquor has increased from Rs.11,482 crore in 2014-15 to Rs.17,212 crore, an increase of about Rs.6000 crore. Likewise, the revenue from sales tax on petroleum products has risen from Rs. 3250 crore in 2014-15 to Rs 6586 crore in 2017-18. Thus the tax revenues of the state has increased form Rs.39,907 on 2014-15 to Rs. 65,535 crore in 2018-19. This means that an extra tax burden of around Rs. 14,000 was placed on every person in the state after the bifurcation. ™ 5