The Governor began her address by describing how dictatorial the previous government was and praised the new government.
Governor addressing the Assembly.
Telangana Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan described the verdict of the people of Telangana in the recently concluded state Assembly election as an act of “liberating themselves from the 10 years of repression.”
Delivering her address to the joint session of the third Telangana legislature on Friday, 15, December, the Governor said that the message of the people was clear and loud that they were against repression and that “they were now breasting a fresh air of freedom.”
The Governor, covering a wide gamut of priorities that the new government has taken up, began her address by describing how dictatorial the previous government was.
She touched upon the six guarantees that the Congress had promised and acknowledged the gesture of Sonia Gandhi in creating Telangana state and the need for shoring up revenues for the near-empty treasury.
She claimed that all the institutions in the state had been destroyed in the last nine and half years.
“The institutions and organisations that should work democratically have been unfortunately degraded to serve specific individuals. It will not augur well in a democracy if institutions indulge in individual worship. My government has decided to change this trend and situation. We will restore the core values of the legislature and executive.” she said.
The Governor also sounded a warning to the previous BRS government that “my government had said it would order an inquiry into the irregularities, corruption and poor quality in the construction of Medigadda and Annaram projects which are part of the Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Scheme.”
She promised that a mega District Selection Committee (DSC) would be organised within six months for the recruitment of teachers and for filling the 2 lakh vacant government posts.
“The six guarantees promised by the Congress would be implemented within 100 days,” she said.
The Governor said that the people who had voted for change were already experiencing its benefits. The iron barricades that kept the people from the rulers had been dismantled and a truly people’s government was now in place, she said.
“It was a liberation from the autocratic rule and dictatorial tendencies. The verdict also was a message that the people would not tolerate repression,” the Governor said.
She also complimented Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy’s Cabinet describing it as a judicious blend of youth and experience and expressed her confidence that the new government would fulfil its promises.
“The year 2023 has brought a new beginning for Telangana’s journey. The government would ensure that there would be, in full measure, the fruits of change in the form of freedom, liberty, equal opportunity and social justice,” she said.
The Governor said: “The Praja Vaani programme was the first step in this direction. This is people’s government, and it is people’s governance. People can express their problems and get their grievances redressed by the government at any time. Now, the situation is such that every member of society can proudly declare that this is their government. Our governance will soon become a role model for the entire country.”
The Governor was generous in acknowledging UPA’s role in the creation of Telangana. She said: “The present elected government thanks the then UPA government and the then Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh for creating a separate Telangana State in 2014.”
She said that on behalf of the four crore Telangana people, the present government thanked Sonia Gandhi, the then-chairperson of the UPA, for the key role she played in the process of creating Telangana.
She said that as the Congress had promised, the government was now ushering in Indiramma Rajyam in Telangana.
“We made it clear that there would not be any repression or dictatorial tendencies in the governance. We will stand by it and the six guarantees made by the Congress,” she said.
Focusing on the agriculture sector, the Governor said that the government was committed to providing quality, and uninterrupted power supply to the agriculture sector.
“As promised, we will give a Minimum Support Price (MSP) for each and every crop. There will be an action plan to waive the farm loans to the tune of ₹2 lakh,” she said.
She said the state government had aimed to get national project status for the Palamuru Rangareddy Lift Irrigation Scheme (PRLIS).
“Our government has decided to complete the project and make Palamuru, Nalgonda, and Ranga Reddy into fertile districts. Our government aims to complete the Dr BR Ambedkar Pranahita-Chevella project started during the time of the previous Congress government and will provide irrigation water to the upper region of Adilabad and other districts,” she said.
She also said that she was happy that the government had begun to cleanse the Telangana State Public Service Commission (TSPSC).
“We will take steps to fill two lakh vacancies in the government within one year. Our government will soon be launching an action plan to provide housing sites to the homeless and give ₹5 lakh financial assistance for the construction of houses under the Indiramma Housing Scheme. Under this scheme, SCs and STs will get an additional one lakh additional amount.
The Governor also referred to the Dharani portal and the promise made by the Congress to disband it.
“A majority of the complaints received under Praja Vaani are land-related. This is the reason why, during the elections, we have promised that we will replace the Dharani Portal, and in its place, the Bhumata Portal will be introduced, which will be transparent and solve all land-related issues.
“An action plan will be put in place in this regard very soon. We will constitute a land commission to protect government lands. The poor will be given rights to the 25 lakh acres of land distributed by the previous Congress government as part of the land reforms programme,” she said.
The Governor also touched upon the plans to convert Hyderabad into a major revenue earner for the implementation of welfare schemes and development projects.
She said the government would try to get the ITIR (Information Technology Investment Region) project, which the UPA had announced in 2013, for Hyderabad which would radically change Hyderabad’s topography.
She also said that they were planning to divide the state into three zones with Hyderabad as the centre.
One Zone is Hyderabad City, which is inside the Outer Ring Road, the second zone is the area between the ORR, and the proposed regional ring road, and the third Zone is outside the regional ring road.
“Our government will prepare plans accordingly,” she said.
Deploring the state’s poor financial health, she said that the entire financial discipline in the state has been destroyed.
“There is no fiscal discipline or financial prudence. My government is focused on strengthening the derailed financial situation. We will place the financial condition of every department before the people by releasing white papers and showing them the real facts. We will be releasing the whitepapers as part of the transparent government that we promised to the people,” she said.
She said that improving the financial situation in the state is the greatest challenge and they are on a war footing.
“We are on the job to identify lacunae that took place in financial management, including the wasteful expenditure and the financial irregularities that took place. Without placing any financial burden on the people, we want to bring in financial prudence and offer good governance and welfare to the people. This is our government’s aim and goal,” she said.
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