KCR jubilant over Telangana achievements

Hyderabad: Stating that in a short span of two years Telangana has attracted national attention with its achievements in development and welfare sectors, Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao on Monday said successful negotiations ensured a healthy relationship with neighbouring Maharashtra, Karnataka and Chhattisgarh.

Speaking at the historic Golconda Fort after hoisting the national flag for the third consecutive year after the formation of Telangana, the Chief Minister said the Telangana government was able to reach agreements in irrigation and energy in a friendly atmosphere and through negotiations.

“In this backdrop, we inked an agreement with Chhattisgarh to buy 1,000 MW of power, which would be realised in the next four months,” he said. The Chief Minister was greeted by scores of artistes representing the rich culture of Telangana on the ramparts of the magnificent fort.

The Chief Minister described Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit as a positive development and his words of praise as an inspiration for developing the State. He said the newly-formed Telangana State had nearly doubled the length of national highways from 2,592 km to 4,590 km during the last two years. “The national highways on an average increased within the State from 2.25 km to 4 km, while the national average is 3 km,” he said.

He also asserted that the State topped at the national level in welfare activities, as it was spending more that Rs 30,000 crore on 35 welfare schemes. He said apart from SC and ST communities, BCs and EBCs would also be availing the benefit of ‘Kalyana Laxmi scheme’.

As part of welfare measures, he said, the government had come up with 250 residential schools for SC, ST and minority students, from which 230 had already started functioning. Referring to the submission of reports by the Chellappa Committee and the Sudhir Committee on the status of STs and minorities, he said reservations would be extended to these communities in proportion to their population.

“Steps will be taken to improve the socio-economic and educational conditions of these sections as suggested by the two commissions,” he said. Chandrashekar Rao said the process of district reorganisation would be completed by Dasara and people would be given newly-formed districts as a festival gift.

As part of Mission Kakatiya, he said the government had already completed works at 8,000 water bodies, while works at 9,000 water bodies started during the second phase, out of the total target of 46,000 water bodies. “With good rainfall this year, about 20,000 lakes are now filled to optimum levels, which is a good sign,” he said.

The government was taking steps to provide irrigation water to one crore acre across the State and has accorded special focus on the agriculture sector, which he said, had been neglected in united Andhra Pradesh. “Priority has been given to micro irrigation and drip irrigation by providing huge subsidies.

The government has allotted Rs 300 crore besides Rs 1,000 crore from Nabard to bring 1.26 lakh acres under drip irrigation during this year,” he said. On increasing the storage capacity for foodgrains, he said the government had undertaken steps to construct 330 godowns with a combined capacity of 17.07 lakh tonnes, and of these 100 godowns were ready while the remaining would be completed in the next two months.

He said the government, under the new industrial policy-(TS-IPASS) accorded sanctions for setting up 2,303 industries in the State involving an investment outlay of Rs 46,000 crore. It is estimated that these industries would provide employment opportunities to 1.75 lakh people.

He claimed that despite hurdles being created by ‘anti-development forces’, the government was moving ahead to achieve the goal of ‘Bangaru Telangana’. The Chief Minister said it was an honour for Telangana that it won the maximum number of police medals announced on the eve of Independence Day. He took pride in naming Intelligence Department constable K Srinivasulu for achieving top honours.

“Never before in undivided AP did the State achieve Shaurya Chakra. This is the first time that someone from the State achieved it,” he asserted. Lauding the role of security agencies, particularly the Police Department in maintaining law and order in the State, the Chief Minister said anti-social elements would be dealt with an iron hand. Earlier in the day, the Chief Minister paid tributes at the Martyrs’ Memorial in Parade Grounds.