Telangana has turned 10 today and what is any political celebration without any slugfest between political parties.
Here, too, there were no differences, as issues regarding the emblem, anthem and celebrations arose between Congress and BRS.
At the official event, Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy, in his speech, said his government’s focus area include reviving the State economy, achieving a Green Telangana by 2050, and addressing the migration from villages to cities.
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“Youth who migrated to towns from villages for livelihoods should become a force to display our competence to the world. Telangana should prove that it competes not only with other States but the world also,” he said.
“Revival of the state economy is the need of the hour to increase the State’s wealth and distribute the same to the poor. The state economy was completely ruined when my government came to power. The debt burden on the state was mounted to ₹7 lakh crore,” he said.
“We presented a white paper in the Assembly and explained the facts to the people. Besides strengthening the economic condition, the government will also give priority to welfare and development of the state. We are giving salaries to government employees and pensioners on the first day of every month,” he added.
Green Telangana 2050
“We are preparing the ‘Green Telangana - 2050 Master Plan,’ where we are dividing the State into three zones. The area within Hyderabad Outer Ring Road (ORR) is urban Telangana and the area between Outer Ring Road and Regional Ring Road (RRR) will be suburban Telangana. Rural Telangana is defined as the area from the Regional Ring Road to the borders of Telangana state,” he said.
“Under the mega plan, the government will clearly announce where the development should take place in the three zones and what kind of infrastructure should be built,” Reddy pointed out.
Talking about Hyderabad as a brand he said, ”The city of Hyderabad should develop as the world’s number one brand.”
From today onwards, Hyderabad will no longer be the joint capital of AP and Telangana, he added.
“We will resolve the issues related to division of assets between AP and Telangana at the earliest,” he said.
Government envisaged plans to transform the river Musi catchment area into an employment generation zone through the Musi riverfront development project, he said adding, “₹1000 crore has already been allocated for this.”
The State government is committed to eradicating drug abuse in Telangana, aiming to eliminate the word ‘drug’ from the state entirely, Reddy said. It is taking a tough stance against drugs and ganja, granting the Telangana State Narcotics Control Bureau (TSNAB) full authority and sufficient funding to combat drug smuggling and eradicate the drug menace.
On the State song he said, “Even after ten years of Telangana, we still do not have a Telangana song. We strongly hoped that the song “Jaya Jayahe Telangana Janani Jayaketanam”, which ignited the spirit of the movement, would be the state song at the time of formation of Telangana state. We believed that this song written by famous poet Andesri will be the state song.
On the Emblem, he said, “Telangana means struggle during the statehood movement and it should be reflected in the official emblem of the state. We are working on creating a new emblem taking into consideration the suggestions and advice from various communities.”
“An average Telangana rural woman will be the replica of Telangana Talli who is a hard worker and generous. Taking these lines into consideration, Telangana Talli statue will be designed. Telangana Talli statue will be prepared reflecting the aspirations of the people. It is part of a cultural renaissance. These decisions are not against anyone and it reflects only the aspirations of the Telangana community,” he added.
The CM also used the opportunity to speak about what his Young government has done since they took office. The State government is determined to promote Telangana as an education hub, Reddy said. “It has been decided to set up model schools with international standards in each mandal headquarters. Steps are being taken to establish Skill University. A team of officials already visited and studied in Delhi, Odisha and Gujarat,” he said.