HYDERABAD: Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy on Tuesday asserted that HYDRAA is unstoppable, no matter how many obstacles come its way.
Speaking after hoisting the national flag on the occasion of ‘Praja Palana Day’ at Public Garden here, the chief minister made it clear that there is no political motive behind the establishment of HYDRAA. In order to promote Telangana as a clean state, HYDRAA has been created, he said, adding: “Hyderabad is popularly known as city of lakes. Today, the city has turned into a city of floods because of the sins committed by the previous rulers. HYDRAA has been set up to demolish encroachments in water bodies.”
Future generations will have to pay a heavy price if the lakes and canals are not protected, the CM noted and added, “Kerala has witnessed nature’s fury in recent times. Thousands of people died. This situation should not occur in Hyderabad.”
Assuring people that HYDRAA guarantees the future of Hyderabad, he said: “It is to protect nature on a mission mode. I appeal to everyone to support this mission. The land mafia is trying to undermine HYDRAA by claiming poor people would be affected.”
Govt paying Rs 6K crore per month towards debt servicing: CM
In his address, the chief minister lamented that the state’s economy was ruined due to a huge debt of Rs 7 lakh crore in the last 10 years. “The government has been paying Rs 6,000 crore every month towards debt servicing,” he said.
“We are trying hard to get Central funds. I went to Delhi many times and met all the Union ministers including the prime minister and made representations. Some political forces are making fun of my Delhi tours. I am not a farmhouse chief minister to stay at home without moving out. I am a hard-working chief minister. I am not going to Delhi for personal work. Delhi is not in Pakistan or Bangladesh. It is the capital of our country. Ours is a federal system,” Revanth added.
“There are many issues between the states and the Centre. States have been paying thousands of crores of rupees in the form of taxes to the Centre. It is our right to seek the state’s share from the taxes. I will go to Delhi many more times if I have to in the future too, to claim the state’s share in taxes. The state government has made strong arguments before the 16th Finance Commission for more funds and demanded that 50 percent of Central taxes should be given to states,” he noted.
The CM alleged that the previous rulers considered Telangana culture as their own culture and the existence of Telangana meant their family existence. “They created an impression that the existence of Telangana society depended on their approach and never tried to understand our culture and its inherent character,” he claimed.
He said that September 17 is the most significant day in the history of Telangana. Until now, there are differences of opinion on defining this auspicious day and some are calling it as Merger Day and some Liberation Day, he added.
He said: “It is not a fight against one region, one caste and one particular area. The entire nation revolted against the autocratic rule for freedom and self-respect. Telangana dislodged Nizam’s tyrannical rule and ushered in a new chapter of democracy on September 17,1948. This is the triumph of Telangana people. Politics has no place in this. It would be foolish if anyone tried to derive political advantages from Telangana armed struggle.”
