Telangana government lays out welfare and development agenda in Governor address
Hyderabad: Telangana government announced a raft of measures envisaging a Rs one lakh crore spend for the welfare of farmers, minorities and poorer sections, even as it laid out a road map for industrial development of the state and transforming Hyderabad into a world class city during its tenure.
The government said it is determined to extend Rs 10 lakh monetary assistance to bereaved families of those who sacrificed their lives for the cause of Telangana.
Addressing the maiden historic session of both Houses of the State of Telangana on Wednesday, Governor E S L Narasimhan said as an initial measure to reduce debt burden and to bring fresh hope and vigour, a waiver of crop loan up to Rs one lakh to each farmer would be implemented.
Noting that his Government believes that development at the cost of welfare would have little meaning and lakhs of families are still living below the poverty line and millions of children are unable to access good education, Narasimhan said, "It is precisely for this reason that my Government has decided to lay particular emphasis on the welfare of SCs, STs, BCs, minorities and the poor among other sections of society by spending one lakh crore rupees in the coming five years."
In the address, which largely reflected the promises made by the ruling TRS in its election manifesto, the Governor said up to 12 per cent reservation in respect of education and government employment would be provided for tribals who constitute a sizable proportion of the state's population, and added that it is also committed to give to 12 per cent reservation to minorities.
"We are going to provide an unprecedented annual allocation of Rs 1,000 crore budget for the welfare of minorities," Narasimhan said.
"We will take appropriate steps for preservation of Urdu language," he said.
Stating that Telangana would formulate 'the best industrial policy' which would give the required boost to the economy, the Governor said a model system of 'single window clearance' would be put in place.
"A Special Chasing Cell (SCC) will be attached to Chief Minister's office to give speedy clearances to the upcoming projects with zero corruption and no harassment to potential investors," he said.
The government would strive to make Hyderabad 'Clean-Green -Pollution free' and a slum-free urban conglomerate by establishing planned satellite townships as per their specific master plans, which would accommodate those poorer sections and migrants, Narasimhan said.
"To make it a delight for any international traveller and for local residents, facilities like expressways, rapid mass transport systems, domestic airports are planned to be undertaken strictly as per a visionary plan, prepared in consultation with international agencies, incorporating the best of most livable cities of the world such as Melbourne, Vienna, Vancouver, Toronto etc."
In order to make Hyderabad a safe zone and an attractive investment destination, law and order would be the top priority for the Government, the Governor assured.
There would be constant surveillance with a network of CCTV cameras and other advanced gadgets covering the entire urban agglomeration to make it a safe city "on the lines of London and New York."
Keeping in mind the large number of women employees working in Hyderabad, particularly in IT sector, special focus on tight security and maintenance of law and order would be the priority of the Government, which would work hard to make the city "a safe haven" for working women, round the clock.
Noting that Telangana contributes to one-third of the country's pharma production, the Government said to keep up this growth and further boost it, the government wishes to promote a pharma city as one of the satellite townships which would have government-run effluent treatment services to have complete pollution management.
