5 min readHyderabadFeb 3, 2023 03:12 PM IST
First published on: Feb 3, 2023 at 03:11 PM IST
The Telangana Government breathed a sigh of relief as Governor Dr Tamilisai Soundarajan did not digress from the prepared speech given to her to address the joint Budget Session of the Legislative Assembly and Legislative Council which began Friday.
The governor – whose relations with the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) government and Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao have been tense – spoke on 47 points including success in the agriculture sector to uninterrupted power supply, economic development, upliftment of backward classes and Dalit empowerment in the state.
Just four days ago, on January 30, a tense situation prevailed in the state and a constitutional crisis loomed as the governor initially did not approve the draft Budget sent to her by the state government on January 21.
Despite the frosty relations, the governor was received warmly on Friday morning under full protocol by Assembly Speaker P Srinivas Reddy, Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao, and Legislative Council chairman G Sukender Reddy.
In her address, Dr Soundarajan said the Telangana government’s inclusive and comprehensive development has become a role model for the country, adding that the state is progressing in a phenomenal manner on every front. The extraordinary success of Telangana is due to the blessings of the people, skilful administration by the chief minister, the hard work of people’s representatives and the dedication shown by the government employees, Soundararajan pointed out.
“There is 24-hour power supply, the state is able to supply food to the rest of the country and has become the granary of the country, the state today is able to supply treated and safe drinking water through taps to every household of the state. Telangana today is investor-friendly, attracts top-class companies and multinationals in IT and other sectors,” she said. Stating that the whole country today is in awe of the progress made by Telangana, she said that the state is not only economically strong, but also one of the top performers in the country in welfare and development.
Days ago, the governor had written to the state government asking whether a provision was made for the governor’s customary address, and as the state government did not reply, she did not approve the draft Budget. Last year, the Telangana government had conducted the Budget Session without the customary address by the governor. The government had argued at the time that since the previous Monsoon Session had not been prorogued, the Governor’s speech was not needed.
On January 30, the state government approached the Telangana High Court which nudged both sides to resolve the issue amicably. The stalemate was finally resolved with the state government stating that governor will address the Budget session. There were apprehensions among BRS ministers that the governor may digress from the speech and criticise the government, but Dr Soundarajan stuck to the prepared address.
“My government has achieved historic progress and stabilised the agriculture sector. We have made history in this sector. With the supply of free and high-quality power, the confidence of farmers has increased. Telangana government has built the major, multilevel lift irrigation project Kaleshwaram in a record time of three and a half years,” Soundararajan said.
The historic Rythu Bandhu scheme introduced by the Telangana government has drawn attention across the world. The United Nations applauded the programme on the world stage. Telangana is the only state in the country which has transferred Rs 65,000 crore to 65 lakh farmers as investment assistance.
“My government is providing insurance of Rs 5 lakh to all farmers of the state through the Rythu Bima scheme. The government pays the entire premium under the scheme to LIC and not a single paisa burden is put on the farmer. I can surely say that there is no such scheme for the farmers anywhere in the world, she said. In the event of an unfortunate death of the farmer, my government ensures that the entire assured money is transferred to the farmer’s family within ten days. This surely indicates the sincerity and the concern of the state towards the welfare of the farmers.”
“Mission Bhagiratha has been successfully implemented and has ensured that all the habitations of the state get safe drinking water. My government has introduced the revolutionary Dalit Bandhu scheme with the aim of economic empowerment of the Dalit community. To rejuvenate the rural economy, my government is providing special assistance to the rural artisans and other communities who are dependent on traditional livelihoods. The government has taken up a massive programme of distribution of 7,30,000 sheep units with a total outlay of Rs 11,000 crore. Today, the shepherd community of Telangana has the largest number of sheep in the country.”
“In meat production, Telangana is ranked fifth in the country. Over the past eight and a half years, in the IT and industry sector, Telangana has been able to attract investments to the tune of Rs 3,31,000 crore,” the governor said.
In her address, Dr Soundarajan said the Telangana government’s inclusive and comprehensive development has become a role model for the country, adding that the state is progressing in a phenomenal manner on every front. (Twitter/@DrTamilisaiGuv) 
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