Telangana spends ₹50,000 cr on welfare schemes to spread happiness: KCR

Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao said the State government is spending about ₹50,000 crore a year on welfare programmes and schemes for the farmers and agriculture sector, on loan waivers and for 24-hour free power supply, aimed at “spreading happiness and making peoples’ lives comfortable”.

While conveying his greetings to people on Ugadi, the Telugu New Year, the Chief Minister said that as predicted in the Telugu Almanac, “more importance would be given to the irrigation sector” while water would be “available in abundance” in the State. He said that it is “a good omen” and that even the nature seems to be favouring the government’s vision.

‘More fertile lands’

The Chief Minister said Ugadi marks the beginning of the agriculture year and primarily is a festival of farmers. It marks the end of Fall and beginning of the Spring season. “Farmers start their agriculture operations beginning with the New Year and it is an integral part of farmers’ lives,” he said

He said the people in Telangana, who tasted bitterness under the united Andhra Pradesh rule, were now enjoying the sweet fruits under the Telangana State’s independence. Through a concerted effort, water is being harnessed, stored and then pumped to the higher planes above the mean sea level through lift projects, tunnels, canals and barrages by major projects like the Kaleswaram, said the Chief Minister. “This has made the dream of bringing one crore acre under fertile lands in the State a reality,” he added.

The project has won appreciation from many quarters. Even at the peak of summer, season tanks are brimming with water and helping farmers in the state to get bumper yields, he claimed. The Chief Minister said schemes such as Rythu Bandhu and Rythu Bhima have instilled confidence among the farmers, their families and gave

hopes. The State government had shouldered the responsibility of farmers from sowing to harvesting of the crops, he said.

The State formed Rythu Bandhu Samithies and constructed Rythu Vedikas in most of the villages. “Agriculture, which was labelled as a useless profession under Andhra Pradesh, has turned out to be a profitable profession under Telangana,” he said.