Telangana: Industries unit pays for travel operators

Hyderabad: Lakhs of rupees in subsidies have been given to manufacturers of tractors and earthmovers as they come under the industry category. Travel transporters is also treated as an industry and get subsidies. This data is contained in the pen drives that the TS government distributed to legislators about the spending of SC and ST special funds in the first six months of the current financial year. The report revealed many interesting things. Under the Scheduled Tribes (ST) development scheme the municipal administration department has given interest-free loans only to those residing in Sircilla district which is represented by minister K.T. Rama Rao. No one in any other part of the state has got a loan. 

The farmers of Erravalli, where Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao has a farm house, have received subsidies for milk production of Rs 30,000 to Rs 40,000 each, whereas in other places in the state, the government has not been so generous. In Adilabad district Sarkil Harika was given Rs 57, Ade Minabai was given Rs 55; Kothapalli Laxmi was given Rs 42. In some districts the beneficiaries got Rs 200-Rs 500 and some got Rs 1,000-20,000.

In some cases three or four members of a family were given subsidies and loans of lakhs of rupees. The TS government has allotted Rs 14,375 crore in the current financial year to the Scheduled Caste development plan, and in the first six months it has spent Rs 5,475 crore. Rs 8,165 crore was allotted in the Budget for the Scheduled Tribes development plan and Rs 3,359 crore has been spent in the first six months.

Under the extension of the Pavala Vaddi scheme to small scale industries and food processing units, the industries ministry subsidised the purchase of tractors and purchase of vehicles for travel operators. The Shapur Nursing Home in Medchal received Rs 1.37 lakh as subsidy from the industries department. BHK Earth Movers in Nalgonda was given Rs 1.39 lakh as subsidy and Srinivasa Constructions in Kothagudem district was given Rs 13 lakh as subsidy by the industries department.

Sri Venkateswara Sai Earth Movers and Hanuman Earth Movers in Jayashankar district were given Rs 16 lakh and Rs 12.94 lakh respectively as industrial subsidy. In almost all districts, 80 per cent of the beneficiaries were travel companies and manufacturers of earth movers. Nirati Ramulu of Kamareddy district was given Rs 2.49 lakh to purchase a tractor and trolley. Officials said that extending the subsidy to purchase tractors, earth movers, and taxis is justified as it comes under the self-employment scheme, but the industries department has given subsidies to small scale industries.