Telangana Governor Approves 10 of 12 Budget Bills, Refers Two to Centre

Hyderabad:Governor Jishu Dev Varma has demonstrated promptness in giving assent to Bills passed by the Legislative Assembly. Governor Varma, who took oath on July 31, 2024, has so far cleared all Bills referred to him, barring two.

These two bills, which seek to extend 42 per cent reservations for Backward Classes (BCs) in education, employment, and local bodies, have been referred to President Droupadi Murmu through the Union home ministry for approval in view of their constitutional implications.

The proposed increase in reservation would take the quota in Telangana to 67 per cent, breaching the 50 per cent cap set by the Supreme Court. These bills were passed on March 17 and sent to the Governor for approval, who after reviewing them for three weeks, referred them to the President on Wednesday.

This comes against the backdrop of a Supreme Court ruling on April 8, which clarified that Governors cannot indefinitely withhold assent to Bills passed by the legislature. While the ruling has drawn attention to the conduct of Governors across states, Telangana’s Governor appears to be in full compliance with constitutional expectations.

Governor Varma’s approach is in stark contrast to the tenure of former Governor Dr Tamilisai Soundararajan during the BRS regime. Several bills were kept pending for extended periods, leading to a constitutional face-off with the then BRS government, which ultimately approached the High Court and Supreme Court. As of April 2023, ten Bills remained pending with her for over a year. Though she eventually cleared three following court cases, seven were still pending when she demitted office in March 2024.

In his brief stint, C.P. Radhakrishnan served as in-charge Governor and cleared the seven pending Bills in July 2024.

Since assuming office, Governor Varma has acted on all Bills passed by the Assembly in a timely manner. In August 2024, five bills passed during the Monsoon Session received immediate assent. All eight Bills passed during the Winter Session in December 2024 were cleared without delay.

During the recent Budget Session in March 2025, out of 12 Bills passed by the legislature, 10 received assent while the two BC reservation bills were sent to the President.

Among the major Bills cleared by Varma include the Bhu Bharati Act, which replaced the Dharani Act. Passed on December 12, 2024, it received the Governor’s nod on January 10, 2025. Likewise, the Scheduled Castes Sub-Categorisation Act, passed on March 18, was approved just three weeks later on April 9.