The Telangana government in the Budget introduced on Monday in the Assembly has given lion’s share to welfare schemes.
Presenting the Budget, Finance Minister T. Harish Rao said the welfare programmes being implemented in Telangana are role models for the rest of the country.
“It is no exaggeration to say that the golden age of welfare is ushered in by the TRS government,” he said adding that government has increased the quantum of pension being given to the poor people from ₹200 to ₹2,016 to old-age people, widows, AIDS patients, handloom workers, and toddy tappers. Pension to differently abled was increased from ₹500 to ₹3,016. Even single women, beedi workers, and filaria patients also get a pension of ₹2,016 per month. During the last seven-and-a-half years, the government has spent an amount of ₹46,650 crores towards Aasara.
“The Government has reduced the age limit for Aasara pensions from 65 to 57. There was delay in implementation due to COVID-19. It is decided that the reduced age limit will be made operational from the next financial year. For Aasara pensions, the government proposes an outlay of ₹11,728 crores,” said the Minister.
Referring to Kalyana Lakshmi and Shaadi Mubarak, Mr Harish Rao said that theirs is the only government in the country which has conducted 10,00,000 marriages of poor girls and this is a record in welfare sector. An outlay of ₹2,750 crore is being proposed towards Kalyana Lakshmi and Shaadi Mubarak, he said.
Referring to food security, Mr. Harish Rao said that they have removed the limit of rice that can be given to an eligible family having white ration card. Every member in the family is entitled to get six kilograms of rice, he said.
With an objective of providing a dignified dwelling of decent size, the government is implementing the 2BHK programme. So far, the government has sanctioned 2.91 lakh houses and 1.70 lakh houses are completed.
Mr. Harish Rao said that Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao has decided to launch the two-bedroom housing scheme for those people who have their own plots with a unit cost of ₹3,00,000 per house. In the coming financial year, four lakh beneficiaries will be provided assistance to construct houses with a unit cost of ₹3 lakhs. For each of the Assembly segments 3,000 houses are going to be taken up. The government has decided to construct gram panchayat buildings in these tribal and adivasi panchayats. With a unit cost of ₹25 lakh, these buildings would be taken up with a total outlay of ₹600 crores. For domestic use of Scheduled Tribe communities, free power up to hundred units is being provided. To improve connectivity, it is now proposed to take up construction of roads to ST habitations with an outlay of ₹1,000 crores from STSDF in the Budget.
