Uttam demands implementation of Rs. 3016 Unemployment Allowance scheme

Hyderabad: Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) President & Nalgonda MP Capt. N. Uttam Kumar Reddy on Wednesday demanded that the State Government start implementing the promised Unemployment Allowance for jobless youth, especially in view of lockdown due to Coronavirus situation.

"The unplanned lockdown by the Central and State Governments has completely ruined the entire economy which was already under distress. Lakhs of jobs in both organise and unorganised sectors have been lost. The situation might not improve at least for a year in many sectors if the government fails to take corrective measures. With just eight days left for the end of the second phase of lockdown, the State Government must come out with a comprehensive plan to revive State's economy," Uttam Kumar Reddy said in a media statement on Wednesday.

Uttam Kumar Reddy criticised Chief Minister K. Chandrashekhar Rao for not taking any concrete measures to prevent the private sector from laying off employees. Many IT companies and SMEs have already laid off thousands of employees and the State Government could do nothing about it. Similarly, many private companies are forcing the employees to take a huge pay cut to stay on their jobs. "State Government has only issued an advisory asking the private sector not to lay off employees and pay salaries for the lockdown. No proper order was issued prescribing action for those who violate the government's directions," he said.

The State Government has set a bad precedent by cutting down the salaries of employees just one week of lockdown. He pointed out that in many foreign countries, the governments have paid packages to private companies to facilitate them in paying salaries to their staff. TRS Govt must also look out such a provision, he demanded.

The TPCC Chief feared that the number of unemployed youth in Telangana would get more than doubled after the lockdown. In addition to nearly 30 lakh unemployed youth, which included nearly 24 lakh registered with the Telangana State Public Service Commission, Telangana State is going to witness a huge increase in unemployment figures in the next few months. The State Government should have an action plan ready to deal with the situation, he demanded.

Uttam Kumar Reddy demanded that CM KCR implement the promised Unemployment Allowance of Rs. 3,016 with immediate effect. He reminded that the TRS, in its manifesto for 2018 Assembly elections, had promised to pay Rs. 3,016 per month to jobless youth if voted to power. However, even after one-and-a-half year, the promise remained unfulfilled. He said this was the most appropriate time for the government to implement the scheme. He said that the State Government should frame the eligibility criteria in such a way that it should not only benefit the fresh graduates, but also help those who lost their jobs during lockdown.

"CM KCR has mismanaged the State's finances to an extent that today the condition of State Government was no different from a daily-wage earner. Just the way a labourer could not afford a meal if he doesn't get work on a particular day, Telangana Government got paralysed after a week of lockdown and it had to cut the employees' salaries and pensions by 50%. There was no contingency plan or funds and the administration was run during this period only on ad hoc basis with no clarity on anything," he said.

The TPCC Chief demanded that the State Government must come out with a White Paper on State's finances, release the Status Report on Coronavirus situation in Telangana, specify the impact of lockdown on various sectors and elaborate on how it plans to deal with the situation.