HYDERABAD: A Bill seeking to bring in a new Revenue Act will be introduced in the ensuing Budget session of the State Legislative Assembly, Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao announced after unfurling the national flag at the Gloconda Fort on the occasion of the 73rd Independence Day on Thursday. The proposed Act would give no room for corruption or laxity in service, he asserted.
“The archaic and obsolete Revenue Acts have inflicted immense damage on farmers and other people. We must undo this damage. Hence, the government is bringing a new Revenue Act,” Rao declared.
The chief minister said the government was of the view that good governance was possible only through administrative reforms. “The existing Acts are not enough to offer good governance without any scope for corruption. A need to completely replace all the old Acts arose, and hence, the State government came out with a new Panchayat Raj Act and a new Municipality Act. A new Revenue Act is also in the pipeline. With the new Acts, I am sure there will be clean, tidy villages and towns with lots of greenery. The new Revenue Act is being prepared to offer hassle-free services to people and farmers,” he explained.
Speaking about irrigation, Rao said the Palamuru-Rangareddy Lift Irrigation Project, along the lines of the Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Scheme (KLIS), would be put on the fast track and water would be provided to farmers in the erstwhile Mahbubnagar, Vikarabad and Rangareddy districts.
“The Kaleshwaram project, a man-made wonder that caught the attention of the world, was recently inaugurated in the presence of the Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh chief ministers. The whole country lauded the project as a symbol of the mature governance of the State, its diplomacy and culture of friendship to the entire nation. There is an overall opinion that the Telangana government’s live-and-let-live policy is worth being emulating by other States,” Rao said.
Through the Kaleshwaram project, the State was able to utilise an assured 400 tmcft of water. Besides 100 tmcft through the Sitarama project to supply water to Khammam district, 75 tmcft through the Devadula project, supplied to the united Warangal district, could be utilised as assured water, he said, adding that the government was making an all-out effort to supply water for irrigation through these two projects by next year.
“I am sharing the happy news that by next June, farmers in the State will have the opportunity to get an additional 575 tmc over and above the water available now through the existing irrigation projects on the Godavari,” Rao said.
Speaking about the economy, the chief minister said the financial growth of Telangana has been steady for the past five years. “We could achieve this due to our fiscal discipline, which gave no scope for corruption and which facilitated speedy decisions. According to a report by the Central government, in the 2018-19 financial year, our State was among the top in terms of Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP), with a 14.84 per cent growth rate,” Rao said.
“The resources accrued due to the steady growth of income have been utilised in a planned manner, which resulted in doubling the State’s wealth in the last five years. When the State was formed, its wealth was about Rs 4 lakh crore. Now, it is Rs 8.66 lakh crore. This is an indicator of the economic growth of the State,” he added.
Rao went on to say that the first phase of the proposed ‘60-day action plan’ was aimed at improving sanitation in villages. “Cleanliness is godliness. Uncleanliness is a symbol of ill health and an uncivil nature. After this 60-day programme, there would be a total change in the appearance of villages and towns,” he claimed and announced similar programmes to improve the greenery and power systems.
Speaking about the IT sector, Rao said that in the last five years, IT exports increased from Rs 52,000 crore to Rs 1.10 lakh crore.The CM also said: “We have created roads, drinking water, power and other basic infrastructure facilities. Today,Telangana stands before the country as a proud and model State.”