For the first time since the formation of Telangana, the administration is reaching out to common people, including in remote areas, and listening to their grievances.
The new Congress government has initiated the Praja Palana (people’s rule) scheme, which aims to take the government to the doorstep of the people. Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy announced the launch of the programme, spanning eight working days till January 6, under which officials will go to at least two villages every day to collect applications from the people in a prescribed format during gram sabhas. Through Praja Palana, the government hopes to learn of the grievances of the people and create a comprehensive database. This, it believes, will enable it to understand the needs of the people at the grass-roots level.
Through the scheme, the government also aims to ensure that the benefits of the welfare schemes promised by the Congress party as six guarantees in the run-up to the Assembly elections reach the last mile. The Congress had promised monthly financial assistance of ₹2,500 to women and LPG cylinders at ₹500 each under the Mahalakshmi scheme; ₹15,000 per acre per year to farmers including tenant farmers, a bonus of ₹500 for every quintal of paddy, and ₹12,000 to agriculture labourers every year under the Rythu Bharosa scheme; free power up to 200 units to all households under the Gruha Jyothi scheme; ₹5 lakh for the construction of houses to families below the poverty line owning small plots of land, and 250 square yard house sites to families involved in the Telangana movement under the Indiramma Indlu scheme; ₹4,000 monthly pension to senior citizens, single women and widows; and ₹10 lakh for medical treatment under the Rajiv Arogya Sri scheme.
