Congress government accelerates welfare rollout and grassroots mobilisation ahead of local body elections in Telangana.
Hyderabad: The Congress government readied plans to accelerate welfare schemes and development programmes throughout June to face gram panchayat elections in July, followed by zilla parishad and mandal parishad elections in August.
The government has stepped up efforts to consolidate public support and demonstrate its commitment to welfare and development.The tenure of gram panchayats ended in February 2024, while mandal and zilla parishads completed their terms in July 2024. Since then, rural local bodies have been administered by special officers appointed by the state government. The delay in holding elections has led to a financial strain, as the Centre has withheld grants citing the absence of elected representatives.
After getting a green signal from Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy, sources said preparations are underway to conduct elections.
In order to energise the party base and coordinate grassroots mobilisation, the Chief Minister began district-wise one-on-one meetings with Congress MLAs. These meetings commenced with MLAs from Mahabubnagar district last week, followed by interactions with Nagarkurnool district MLAs this week. Revanth Reddy plans to meet MLAs from all districts by the end of June to ensure readiness at every level.
Parallelly, the Congress government is accelerating the implementation of flagship welfare schemes aimed at garnering public support.
On June 2, Telangana Formation Day, the state government will launch the Rajiv Yuva Vikasam scheme, a major employment initiative targeting 5 lakh unemployed youth. With an allocation of Rs 9,000 crore, the scheme offers financial support ranging from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 4 lakh per beneficiary. Sanction letters will be distributed to one lakh youth within a month, starting with a ceremonial launch by the Chief Minister and his cabinet on June 2.
The Indiramma Housing Scheme will see the distribution of sanction letters for 50,000 houses. The government will also organise ‘housewarming ceremonies’ for completed houses on June 2. Already, construction has begun on over 20,000 houses in the pilot phase, and the state aims to build 4.5 lakh houses statewide within the year.
The state government will also issue new ration cards in June. Between February and May, 17 lakh new beneficiaries were added to existing cards, reflecting the government's efforts to cover more beneficiaries.
In a major relief to former sarpanches and rural local bodies, the state government on Wednesday cleared pending dues amounting to ₹153 crore for gram panchayats.
A total of 9,990 bills, which had been pending for several months, were cleared in a single day. These payments come as part of a phased plan initiated by the Congress government, to settle arrears left behind by the previous BRS government.
When the BRS government demitted office, it had left outstanding dues to gram panchayats nearing Rs 1,500 crore. The government released payments for all bills below Rs 10 lakh, prioritising those pending until August 2024. In addition to the gram panchayat bills, the government also released Rs 85 crore under the Special Development Fund (SDF) for various works initiated during the previous BRS regime. Officials stated that the process of clearing the remaining arrears will continue in phases.
The release of pending bills to gram panchayats triggered speculations that the Congress government is planning to hold gram panchayat elections in July. Gram panchayats are currently run by special officers for over a year in the absence of sarpanches whose tenure ended in February 2024.
At a public meeting in Zaheerabad on Friday, Revanth Reddy appealed to voters to support the Congress, highlighting the government’s record over the past 18 months since taking office in December 2023. Minister Konda Surekha, in charge of the combined Medak district, who also addressed the public meeting urged the electorate to give a strong mandate to the Congress in recognition of its efforts for public welfare and state development.
