Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy on Thursday said his government was hopeful that the recent talks he held with Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu on pending bifurcation-related issues would yield a positive outcome.
Speaking at the Independence Day celebrations at the historic Golconda Fort, he pointed out that division of assets between the two states after the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh remained unresolved for the last 10 years.
The issue of sharing water of Krishna and Godavari rivers was also not taken up.
Chief Minister Revanth Reddy asserted that his government was prioritizing the state’s interest and said he wanted to maintain cordial relations with the Centre as well as neighbouring states.
The Chief Minister asserted that his government’s top priority was to restore the freedoms that had been snatched from Telangana for the last 10 years.
“We have broken the shackles of physical and mental slavery. Today, people have the freedom to question the government. A facility has also been created to seek suggestions from people to run a people-friendly government,” Chief Minister Revanth Reddy said.
Chief Minister Revanth Reddy said the state government was working in the interest of the majority of people and if there was any mistake, the government was ready to rectify it.
“We have maintained restraint despite some forces making false accusations against the government,” he said.
Chief Minister Revanth Reddy said his government had set a record by implementing two of the six promises within 48 hours of coming to power.
The government has launched free bus travel for women, saving them Rs 26.19 crore as of July. He also noted that health insurance cover was increased from Rs 50 lakh to Rs 1 million under the Rajiv Arogyasri government.
CM Revanth Reddy announced that distribution of digital health profile cards with unique numbers will begin soon.
Chief Minister Revanth Reddy said the Rs 500 gas cylinder scheme was launched on February 27 and there are 4.3 million beneficiaries of the scheme.
Under the Gruha Jyoti scheme launched in March, each designated household will receive 200 units of electricity free of cost every month and a total of 4.713 million households have benefited from the scheme, he added.
The Chief Minister said that under the Indirama Housing Scheme, the government has set a target of constructing 450,000 houses this year and each constituency has been allotted 3,500 houses.
The government will provide financial assistance of Rs 50 lakh to the poor to build houses, he said.
The Chief Minister asserted that the state government was giving top priority to agriculture.
“The budget has allocated a huge amount of Rs 72,659 crore for agriculture and allied sectors. Efforts are also being made to increase farmers’ income and agricultural output,” Chief Minister Revanth Reddy said.
He said that as per election promise, the government has successfully implemented farm loan waiver of up to Rs 2 lakh at a time.
“The Opposition is trying to find flaws in the implementation of the farm loan waiver scheme. I would like to say a word about this. This scheme will benefit all eligible farmers.
“State agriculture departments are responsible for addressing grievances arising due to technical issues,” he said, adding that the government is spending Rs 31,000 crore on the scheme.
Chief Minister Revanth Reddy said his government is committed to providing Rs 15,000 per acre to all eligible farmers under the Rythu Bharosa scheme, while the previous government had paid only Rs 10,000 per acre.
“Undeserving people, mainly landowners and property owners who do not cultivate their land, also benefited,” he alleged, adding that public money was being misused and farmers were taking the bait.
“Telangana has practiced abundant paddy cultivation. Farmers are facing problems as they are not getting a fair price for their produce. It has been decided to provide a bonus of Rs 500 for good quality paddy varieties and already 33 good quality varieties have been identified,” he said.
Asserting that revolutionary reforms were being introduced in the education sector, he said the government had decided to set up a ‘Vidya Committee’ soon.
“The anganwadi centres will be upgraded as pre-primary schools and the mission of providing quality education, skill development and employment generation will be carried out on a mission mode,” he said.
Referring to the foundation stone laying ceremony of Young India Skills University, he said the initiative will bring about a revolution in the education sector.
“Youth with new skills will be provided with job guarantee. Mahindra Group Chairman Anand Mahindra has been appointed as chancellor of Skill University,” he said.
The Prime Minister said that the government has envisaged a scheme under the Indira Mahila Shakti scheme to empower 6.3 million women as entrepreneurs and businesswomen.
The government aims to provide financial assistance of Rs 1,000 crore to set up Srinidhi. The government will provide the women’s group with the requisite skills and promote their products through branding and marketing.
He said the government had introduced the Loan Insurance Scheme under the Indira Mahila Shakti scheme.
Under the scheme, loans up to Rs 2 lakh will be waived in case of the death of a female member of the group.