Governor Lauds TRS Govt In Republic Day Speech

Telangana Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan today heaped praises on the state government for its various welfare schemes, in her Republic Day address.

She first expressed her appreciation for the government for "lending a helping hand" to the people of the state during the last year’s nation-wide lockdown, and said, "The state government had taken many praiseworthy steps to support the people of the state through last year's lockdown. It distributed 12 kgs of rice and extended financial help of Rs 1,500 per month to each poor family that had lost its livelihood during the lockdown, and had also ensured that free meals were served to those in need at the Annapurna canteens. Special trains were also arranged for the migrant workers returning to their native places. The government did all this despite the fact that it had suffered a loss of Rs 52,000 crore due to the disruption of economic activities caused by the pandemic. It is appreciable that despite the huge loss, it continued to implement its various welfare and social security schemes as well."

The Governor also praised the TRS regime for its Palle Pragathi scheme, rolled out to bring about holistic rural development, and said that the scheme had transformed the villages of the state.

"The Telangana government's Palle Pragathi scheme has been a means to honour the sacrifices made by those who fought for the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh. It has brought about holistic rural development, and has resulted in a tremendous improvement in the living standards of the rural populace. Under the scheme, all 12,765 gram panchayats of the state have been provided with tractors, tankers and trolleys - this is a great achievement as only 84 gram panchayats had their own tractors at the time of the state's formation. Further, a record 91% of the saplings planted across the rural areas of the state have survived, and each village now has one plant nursery. The state will soon also have 19,470 village parks. As a result of these efforts, Telangana's rural areas now wear a festive, clean and green look all year round," Soundararajan said.

"The people of the state have also supported the government's greenery scheme, and voluntarily cleared all the unwanted vegetation, and closed the unused open wells, bore wells and sewerage ponds for the scheme's successful implementation. The government had also undertaken the construction of dump yards in 12,736 places, of which 91% of the works have already been completed. 9,023 dumping yards are now being equipped with composting facilities. Besides improving infrastructure, the TRS government has also been sensitive towards the non-monetary needs of the people - in order to ensure that all the people can easily perform the last rites of loved ones, one Vaikunta Dhama (crematorium) has been constructed at every village," she added.

The Governor also spoke about the government's commitment to farmer welfare, and said that its "pro-farmer" stand was evidenced by the fact that it had constructed one Rythu Vedika in each rural cluster to facilitate discussions and collaboration between the farmers.

"The construction of 2,580 Rythu Vedikas out of the targeted 2,601 has been completed," she noted.

Commenting on the ongoing Covid-19 vaccination drive, Soundararajan opined that the state government had started the year on an optimistic note, and was treating the immunisation drive as a propriety, and said, "With the combined and well-coordinated efforts of the union government and the state government, the spread of the virus has been effectively contained in Telangana. By the strict implementation of the lockdown, and by offering the best medical treatment to the affected, the mortality rate too has been brought down to the lowest possible number."

She also thanked the health workers and other frontline workers in her address for their efforts to combat the virus.

The Governor made the speech while participating in the Republic Day program organised at the Public Gardens in Nampally.