Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao assures survey not to identify nativity

“The government does not have proper data now. This has been leading to scams and other irregularities in implementation of government schemes. Ration cards, free houses, pensions etc. for the poor have surpassed the state’s total population by lakhs. We want to weed out bogus beneficiaries and identify the genuine with this survey. There is nothing more to this,” Mr Rao said.

“Some vested interests are unnecessarily creating fears and doubts among the public by stating that we are identifying nativity or Seemandhra people in the name of the survey. There is no nativity column in this survey. Divulging personal details is voluntary,” Mr Rao added.

“This is only to assess the social and economic status of people and identify genuine beneficiaries. The government is planning to issue household cards based on this data, which will serve as authentic ID and address proofs for all official purposes. In future, securing important documents would be easier for people who give details in the survey,” said Raymond Peter, principal secretary, Panchayat Raj department and in-charge of the survey. Buses and trains were jam-packed for the last three days with people from other states and Hyderabad making a beeline to their native places fearing that may lose “Telangana citizenship.” fearing that they may lose “Telangana citizenship” if they miss out.