Nalgonda: Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka on Monday said the state government is extending interest-free loans to women Self-Help Groups (SHGs) to strengthen their economic empowerment.
Inaugurating the new building of the 100-bed hospital at Madhira in Khammam district, he said ₹5,000 crore in interest-free loans was distributed to women SHGs in urban local bodies across the state on Monday. Recalling that Opposition leaders had mocked the government’s goal of making one crore women millionaires, he said the Congress government had exceeded its promise by distributing ₹26,000 crore in interest-free loans to SHGs in its first year.
The Deputy CM said the government has so far paid ₹7,000 crore to the RTC on behalf of women availing free bus travel. Criticising the previous government, he said the saris it distributed were of poor quality, whereas the present government is supplying quality saris with dignity to every woman’s household.
He said the government aims to increase the state’s wealth and distribute it equitably through welfare schemes. Urging beneficiaries to complete Indiramma houses expeditiously, he said bills are being cleared every week. Recalling his pre-election padayatra from Adilabad to Khammam, he said people had repeatedly appealed for housing. He alleged that the previous BRS government diluted housing schemes in the name of double-bedroom houses. After coming to power, the Congress government revived the Indiramma housing scheme and is providing ₹5 lakh per house. In the first phase, 4.5 lakh houses are being built at a cost of ₹22,500 crore, with the second phase to begin in the next two months.
He said fine rice is being supplied free of cost to 96 lakh families, out of a total of 1.15 crore families in the state, at 6 kg per person, even as the market price is ₹55 per kg. To improve education standards, 100 Young India Integrated Residential Schools are being constructed across Telangana.
On irrigation, he said Congress governments had earlier provided irrigation to 2.79 lakh acres in Khammam district. After returning to power, the government plans to extend irrigation to another 1.98 lakh acres. The Munneru-Palair link project, taken up at a cost of ₹126 crore, will irrigate 1.38 lakh acres, while the Nehru Lift Irrigation Scheme will cover 33,025 acres, the Rajiv Lift Irrigation Scheme 2,500 acres and the Manchukonda Lift Irrigation Scheme 2,412 acres. Check dams and related structures are also being built in five mandals of the Madhira Assembly constituency to prevent water wastage and divert flows to fields.
He said it was deeply satisfying to see abundant water flow in what was once a drought-prone region, with farmers harvesting crops and cultivating paddy.
Out of a total state budget of ₹3 lakh crore, ₹1,21,874 crore has been spent on the welfare of farmers and the poor, he said. As Telangana is an agriculture-based state, ₹74,163 crore is being directly transferred to farmers through schemes such as Rythu Bharosa, bonus for fine paddy and 24-hour free electricity. Welfare schemes including Indiramma houses, 200 units of free domestic power, free RTC bus travel for women and Kalyana Lakshmi are being implemented to benefit the poor, he added.