Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao. File
| Photo Credit: NAGARA GOPAL

Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao faulted the opposition Congress for its claims that Dharani portal will be scrapped if it is elected back to power claiming that such a move will bring back corruption in land deals and allow middlemen to thrive again.

He asserted that Dharani portal was introduced in the interest of people in general and farmers in particular. “How will you get Rythu Bandhu amounts into your accounts if Dharani portal is scrapped?” he asked.

He recalled how Dharani streamlined the land related issues preventing the entry of middlemen claiming that the portal had also helped in enabling timely payment of Rythu Bima to farmers families in case of death of the breadwinner. The Chief Minister was addressing an impressive gathering after formally inaugurating the BRS party office, Integrated District Offices Complex and the district police complex here on Friday.

He recalled how the district was known for prevalence of viral fevers in the past and how death of people due to these fevers occupied headlines in the newspapers. The BRS Government however ensured that safe drinking water was supplied to all households including those located in the remote parts and strengthened the medical infrastructure to avoid scope for such developments. “There are no deaths due to viral fevers since the past three years. This is possible because of the government’s decision to supply safe drinking water to all households, an initiative which put Telangana on the top across the country,” he asserted. He said the Government had also decided to upgrade tribal hamlets into panchayats and the decision had ensured equitable development of these villages in agency areas which hitherto were deprived of all the schemes.

The Chief Minister said from a stage where the State was in the grips of power crises, the proactive schemes launched by the government ensured that uninterrupted power supply was provided to all sectors for 24-hours. In this context, he assured that steps would soon be initiated to ensure three-phase power supply to farm lands owned by tribal families with an estimated ₹300 crore.

Mr. Rao positively responded to the requests made by the local MLAs and leaders for sanctioning of a bridge across Wardha river connecting neighbouring Maharashtra with a cost of ₹75 crore and an ITI in Asifabad to serve the needs of the people there. He announced ₹25 crore each for Asifabad and Kagaznagar municipalities and ₹10 lakh each to 335 gram panchayats in the area. Similar sanction was announced in respect of neighbouring Mancherial district.

“The BRS set its foot in Maharashtra where people are now demanding that the State Government implement Telangana model of development there too. People of the neighbouring State are seeking merger of their villages into Telangana so that accelerated development can take place,” he said.

Mr. Rao said the BRS was sure to win the next elections and there was no doubt about it and asserted that the government would continue the fast paced development in the coming term too.

Minister A. Indrakaran Reddy and others also spoke.