VIJAYAWADA: Buoyed by success of the Land Pooling Scheme (LPS), which helped the State Government acquire land from farmers for construction of capital city Amaravati, Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu has now floated the idea of issuing public bonds to fund government development programmes, promising a higher interest rate than that of banks.

In the wake of strained relations with the Centre after TPD pulled out of the NDA, the State Government seems to have become doubtful about free flow of Central funds and is bracing to mobilise money on its own to carry on with the welfare and development schemes without interruption.

Addressing the Legislative Assembly on Wednesday, the Chief Minister appealed to people to extend their support to take the State on development path by depositing their money with the government.

The CM, who on several occasions, asserted that the State’s progress would not stop whether the Centre extended its cooperation or not, said the government at present is paying 8 per cent as interest to banks on loans it has taken and offered 1-2 per cent more on deposits from public. “It will be beneficial to both the government and the public,” he added..