HYDERABAD: BRS leader and former minister T Harish Rao disputed the statement of Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy and Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka on providing loans to self-help group women.
Speaking to reporters here on Sunday, Harish Rao said that the government made a false claim on disbursing Rs 21,000 crore interest-free loans to women.
The BRS leader said that the state government sanctioned interest-free loans of just Rs 4,000 crore. The remaining loans, around Rs 17,000 crore, sanctioned by the government would attract 12 per cent interest, he said. “If the chief minister’s statement of providing Rs 21,000 crore interest free loans is correct, then the government should release a white paper with all the details,” he added.
He demanded that the ruling Congress fulfil its poll promise of providing interest-free loans to SHG women up to Rs 10 lakh.
Alleging that the CM made a false claim on charges being paid to women for stitching school uniforms and extending insurance scheme benefits to women, he said that the government handed over a cheque for Rs 35 crore to women groups but that cheque has “lapsed”.
“The government again handed over another cheque for Rs 44 crore. But we have to seek if this cheque too would lapse due to insufficient funds,” he added.
On providing irrigation water, Harish Rao said that as the workers went on strike for 32 days for non-payment of bills, they did not operate the Devadula motors. “As a result, one lakh acres of crops are drying up,” he claimed.
The Revanth Reddy government failed to provide the water to farmers, he alleged. The Kalwakurthy lifts too were not operated, he pointed out.
The legislator from Siddipet also reiterated that the BRS spent Rs 3,900 crore on SLBC tunnel works. He wondered why the Irrigation engineer-in-chief Anil Kumar did not visit the SLBC so far.
Harish Rao also demanded that the government release Rs 400 crore towards bonus for fine variety paddy cultivated by farmers.