In his address to the Assembly, E S L Narasimhan said the TRS government had the strength, resilience and commitment to help the people of Telangana.
Governor E S L Narasimhan said that the TRS government had the strength, resilience and commitment to address the needs of the people of Telangana.
The Governor was addressing a joint sitting of both the Houses of the Telangana Legislature on Thursday, to mark the commencement of the Budget Session.
Narasimhan stated that the government had prepared this year's budget after a detailed and meticulous exercise to ensure that the State's resources were effectively utilized to address the needs of the people of Telangana and fulfill their aspirations, and that he had the hope that the legislature's deliberations during the session would be productive and fruitful.
The Governor said that the TRS government had completed 21 months of its journey on a successful note. The "innovative" policies and programs formulated and implemented by the government were attracting national and international attention, he claimed.
The Governor stated that the State had made commendable progress in all sectors. The economy of the State was expected to grow at 11.7% in 2015-16, as per the advance estimates of the Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP), as against the projected national growth rate of 8.6%. Telangana's GSDP was estimated to be Rs. 5.83 lakh crores in 2015-16 at current prices. Although the primary sector involving agriculture and allied activities was likely to register a meagre growth of 0.8% due to the adverse seasonal conditions in 2015-16, the secondary sector involving industries and manufacturing was likely to grow at 8.3%, and the services sector was likely to grow at 14.9% over the previous year, he said.
He also said that the government had identified the priority needs of the people, and apart from focusing on the irrigation and the power sectors, it had launched several flagship programs such as Mission Kakatiya and Mission Bhageeratha, and welfare schemes such as Asara pensions, a revamped food security scheme, Kalyana Lakshmi / Shaadi Mubarak, double bedroom housing for poor etc.
He said that the government was striving for the uplift of the backward classes and other economically backward sections, and proposed to extend the Kalyana Lakshmi scheme to these sections, too.
Stating that the government had taken the bold and pioneering step to construct double bedroom houses for all eligible families without any beneficiary contribution, discarding the earlier model of single room houses, so as to enable even a poor family to live with dignity and to secure the future of its children, he said that the government had sanctioned 60,000 houses across the ten districts of the State, and was planning to construct one lakh 2 BHK houses in the GHMC area and another one lakh similar houses in other parts of the State during 2016-17.
The government also intended to start four new super-specialty hospitals at different locations in Hyderabad, he claimed.
He said that the government intended to strengthen the 108 scheme adding more vehicles, and with advanced life support equipment, and also by integrating it with the police and transport departments, and with trauma centres set up on the highways.
He said that the government was encouraging poly house cultivation of vegetables and flowers by providing 75% subsidy, to cater to the needs of vegetable- and flower-growers, and to enhance the productivity per unit area.
The government also proposed to set up a Telangana horticulture Development Corporation, he stated.
The government had critically reviewed all irrigation projects and had redesigned them wherever necessary, he said, adding that the Dr B R Ambedkar Pranahita project, the Kaleswaram project, the Sita Rama Bhakt Ram Das lift irrigation project, the Mallanna Sagar project and the Konda Pochamma Sagar projects were some examples of such re-engineered projects.
He said that Mission Kakatiya was a project that received widespread applause both nationally and internationally. Mission Bhagiratha was targeted at ensuring water supply to 6,100 villages and 12 municipalities by December, 2016.
He added that the government was committed to supplying nine hours of power to the agriculture sector during the coming year, and that all arrangements had been made in this regard.
Among the government's achievements in irrigation, he said, was the "successful resolution" of the issues in sharing the Godavari river waters with Maharashtra.
He also said that the government proposed to install one lakh CCTV cameras in Hyderabad under the Public Safety Measures Act, and that it had introduced "SHE teams" of the police force to prevent harassment of women and eve-teasing in the Hyderabad and Cyberabad areas, and was planning to extend such teams to all the districts.
At the end of his nearly forty-minute speech, Narasimhan urged the public representatives to discharge their responsibilities in a spirit of mutual cooperation, and said that every one needed to work towards building a "Bangaru Telangana".