Pensions for Thalassemia and Sickle Cell Anaemia Patients in TG From Aug. 15: Revanth Reddy

Hyderabad:Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy on Thursday directed officials to sanction pensions to all eligible thalassemia and sickle cell anaemia patients and ensure that the process began immediately after identifying beneficiaries.

The Chief Minister said the pensions would provide much-needed financial relief to affected families and instructed officials to commence distribution from August 15.

He was chairing a review meeting with panchayat raj and rural development minister Danasari ‘Seethakka’ Anasuya here on Thursday,

The Chief Minister also ordered officials to ensure that all eligible widows, single women, handloom weavers and toddy tappers received their pensions without delay. He directed that widows of deceased persons with disabilities should be provided pensions immediately, stressing that there should be no procedural delays in extending the benefit.

Reviewing rural development and panchayat raj programmes, Revanth Reddy instructed officials to empower mandal parishad development officers (MPDOs) to monitor development works undertaken by various departments in their jurisdiction. He directed that mandal parishad meetings be conducted once every 45 days with members of Parliament, MLAs and MLCs invited to participate. Such meetings, he said, would enable sarpanches to directly raise local issues with officials and improve coordination in resolving village-level problems.

The Chief Minister asserted that no village should remain without a blacktop road and instructed officials to ensure that every village is connected by an all-weather tar road. He also directed that every gram panchayat should have its own office building, with structures categorised as A, B or C based on population. Panchayat secretaries, he said, should be made fully accountable for sanitation and other civic responsibilities.

Revanth Reddy ordered the immediate release of funds for sanitation and other essential works in gram panchayats where elections are yet to be conducted, ensuring that civic services are not disrupted due to the absence of elected bodies.

The Chief Minister also reviewed the Indiramma sari programme and instructed officials to ensure that the one crore saris to be distributed to women are of superior quality and featured attractive designs. He suggested involving students of the National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT) in designing the saris.

Expressing concern over the possible impact of El Niño conditions on water availability, Revanth Reddy directed officials to make comprehensive preparations to safeguard drinking water supplies. He asked officials of the Rural Water Supply department, Hyderabad Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board, and the irrigation department to hold regular coordination meetings and accord the highest priority to drinking water needs. He also instructed that employees working under rural drinking water supply schemes should receive their salaries before the fifth of every month and directed officials to prepare water supply plans based on locally available water resources.

The review meeting was attended by CM’s principal secretary N. Sridhar, special chief secretary, panchayat raj and rural development, Dana Kishore, finance secretary Sandeep Kumar Sultania and SERP CEO Divya Devarajan.