No 1 state in welfare: KCR

Hyderabad 15,August (Agencies): Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao unfurled the tricolour at the historic Golconda fort on Saturday and highlighted welfare and development initiatives launched by his government in the new state.

Noting that the government has allocated Rs 28,000 crore for welfare initiatives this year, he said Telangana is number one in the country in implementing welfare measures. Stating that villages did not develop as Mahatma Gandhi wished, even several decades after independence, Rao noted his government would launch the ambitious 'Grama Jyothi' programme soon. Rs 25,000 crore would be spent in the next four years under the programme.

Referring to comments in some quarters



(prior to bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh) that Telangana would face problems in the power sector, he said the government is now able to provide electricity supply without power cuts. The Chief Minister announced that nine hours of power would be supplied daily to farmers from March next year. The government has succeeded in mobilising funds to the tune of Rs 91,500 crore to make the state self-sufficient in power generation. Efforts were on to raise the installed capacity of the state to 25,000 MW by 2018-19, he added.

Criticising those who claimed to have developed Hyderabad during their rule, he said the city with a population of 1.42 crore has only two reservoirs, that too built during the Nizam period.