BRS left Telangana with Rs 8.21 lakh crore debt, Congress repaid Rs 2.08 lakh crore: Telangana Dy CM
Alampur, July 14 (TNT): Telangana Deputy Chief Minister and Finance Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka on Tuesday alleged that the previous BRS government had pushed the state into a debt burden of ₹8.21 lakh crore through financial mismanagement and corruption, while claiming that the Congress government had repaid ₹2.08 lakh crore in principal and interest in the last two-and-a-half years.
Addressing a public meeting at Julekal village in Vaddepalli mandal of Alampur constituency, Bhatti said the Congress government inherited a financially distressed state despite handing over a surplus budget earlier.
The meeting was chaired by AICC Secretary and former MLA S.C. Sampath Kumar and attended by Ministers Vakiti Srihari, Jupally Krishna Rao and MP Mallu Ravi.
The Deputy Chief Minister alleged that the previous government had failed to create assets or improve people’s lives despite borrowing heavily.
He said the present government was simultaneously repaying debts and implementing welfare programmes.
Bhatti said the government had continued schemes such as Shaadi Mubarak and Kalyana Lakshmi, besides ensuring timely payment of salaries, free electricity for farmers and reimbursement of nearly ₹12,000 crore to RTC towards the free bus travel scheme for women.
He said the government was constructing 4.5 lakh Indiramma houses at an estimated cost of ₹22,500 crore, establishing 100 integrated residential schools and providing nutritious breakfast to students in government schools.
He also announced that the ₹5 lakh Indiramma Insurance Scheme would be launched in November on the occasion of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi’s birth anniversary.
Targeting the BRS, Bhatti questioned which welfare schemes the party would discontinue if it returned to power, citing free electricity, free fine rice, the proposed insurance scheme, free bus travel for women and interest-free loans to self-help groups.
On irrigation, the Deputy Chief Minister said the government was expediting works under the Palamuru-Rangareddy Lift Irrigation Scheme and had cleared pending land acquisition payments.
He announced that directions had been issued to the District Collector to expedite acquisition of 573 acres for the Mallammakunta reservoir under the Tummilla project, which is expected to provide irrigation to about 87,500 acres.
Assuring that farmers would not face injustice, Bhatti said the government would ensure fair compensation for land acquired and would not undervalue agricultural land.
Responding to local demands, he also assured that the government would take steps to establish a separate junior college for girls in the area after consulting Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy.
TNT TS
