Governor silent on KCR’s key schemes

2BHK houses, land for Dalits, reservations for tribals ignored in budget speech

​Hyderabad: KCR’s key promises fail to find a place in the customary address of Governor ESL Narasimhan to the joint session of Telangana Legislative Assembly and Council.

During the 40-minute long speech on Friday, the Governor did not make any mention about the flagship programmes like the 2-bedroom housing scheme, three acres of land for Dalits, fee reimbursement and reservations for tribals leading to protests by the main opposition Congress and TDP which was followed by a walkout.

The 2-bedroom housing scheme was one of the important promises made by the TRS during 2014 elections. Under this scheme, the government had proposed to build two lakh houses for the eligible poor, in the state.

Of them one lakh were to be built within Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation limits and the rest in rural areas. The entire cost of the project is to be met through the borrowings of Telangana Housing Corporation Limited from financial institutions, for which the government provides guarantee.

Similarly, there has been inordinate delay in releasing fee reimbursement dues. According to the figures given by the government in the State Assembly in January, it had spent about Rs 1,400 crore towards fee-reimbursement though it owes Rs 4,400 crore to the colleges.

The government conveniently skirted this issue also in the Governor’s address. The TRS had promised 12 per cent quota each for Muslims and Scheduled Tribes during the 2014 general elections. Muslims now get 4 per cent quota and STs 7.5 per cent. Except for setting up commissions to study the matter, the government has not made any progress in providing reservations.

Making a passing reference to the issue, the Governor in his speech merely said, “A commission of inquiry was constituted to study the social, educational and economic conditions of Muslims. The commission has submitted its recommendations for policy initiatives, as well as reservations for Muslims.”

The scheme of allotting three acres for Dalits was launched amid much fanfare by Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao on August 15 (GO Ms No 1 dated 26-7-2014). But there has been no significant progress in the implementation of the scheme.

All that the Governor said was that his government was committed for the welfare of SCs and STs and that the government was committed to introduce suitable legislative mechanism for adequate statutory earmarking of funds for SCs and STs. “Necessary steps will be taken to ensure this in the current session of the legislature,” he said.

With regard to PG-to-KG free education, the Governor said that 103 residential educational institutions are being established for SCs and 51 residential schools for STs. Of 201 residential schools sanctioned for minorities, 71 have already started functioning.

Residential schools for BC would be established in each of the 119 assembly constituencies from next academic year. For the first time, the government had sanctioned 30 residential degree colleges for SC women, of which 23 residential degree colleges have commenced, he said.

However, the Governor dwelled at length on the issue of filling one lakh vacancies in the government sector, how the infant State (Telangana) has come to be recognised throughout the country for launching many an initiative in a very short span of time, the initiatives taken by the government in last 33 months in various sectors, including uninterrupted power supply, revamping of minor irrigation tanks through 'Mission Kakatiya', drinking water supply to households through 'Mission Bhagiratha' and obtaining the number one rank in 'Ease of Doing Business' are a few among the many.