Centre releases 117 crore to Telangana

Hyderabad: Denying the accusations of Telangana government that the Centre was not helping it, the Union government on Thursday has released Rs 117 crore to the State.

According to Union Minister of State for Home Affairs G Kishan Reddy, the funds were released as part of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government's commitment to ameliorate the living conditions of people across the cities.

As part of the said scheme, the Union Finance Ministry has released Rs 117 crore for capacity building of local bodies in Telangana. Besides, to enhance the air quality in Hyderabad.

The Union Finance Ministry release comes within a week since the Central governments' decision to pre-release Rs 224 crore to Telangana under the disaster management. The Union Minister said that earlier Rs 224.5 crore has been released for the State to take up relief and rehabilitation after heavy rains and floods in Hyderabad and other parts of the State. Kishan Reddy said that a team of the Central officials had already visited Hyderabad to take stock of the flood situation and assess the damage. "Once the report comes, the Centre will consider allocations for a comprehensive flood relief package for the entire State."

He reminded that before the pre-release of SDRF funds, the Centre had also released Rs 202 crore for repair and maintenance of roads in Telangana, and it would help the State government to carry out the much-needed repair works of the roads in Telangana ravaged by the floods and heavy rains. Kishan Reddy said that the Centre has been making efforts to ensure maximum possible support to Telangana to meet immediate exigencies and realise long-term goals.