BRS Spent Rs 5Lakh-Crore On Welfare Schemes In 9 Years

HYDERABAD: The BRS government spent Rs 5 lakh crore on welfare schemes in the past nine years and is set to implement a few more welfare schemes in the tenth year, according to the progress report released by the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) on Tuesday.

As the K. Chandrashekar Rao-led government completes nine years in office on June 2 — when the Telangana state decennial celebrations will also start — the government is laying a special focus on recipients of Aasara pensions, Kalyana Laxmi, Shaadi Mubarak, Rs 1 per kg ration rice, Rythu Bandhu, Rythu Bima, 24-hour free power to agriculture, KCR kits, residential schools and colleges, which account for the highest number of beneficiaries and also higher allocations in the past nine years.

The first decision of the BRS government after assuming office was to extend Aasara pensions to ensure social and financial security to the poor and vulnerable sections, mostly comprising the elderly, widows, single women, beedi workers, physically challenged, filaria-affected, toddy tappers, weavers, cultural artistes, dialysis patients and AIDS patients.

Aasara pensions are currently being extended to 44,12,882 people every month, making it the biggest welfare scheme in the state. The government has distributed Rs 58,696 crore in Aasara pensions in the past nine years, the report stated.

Before the formation of Telangana state, the number of pension beneficiaries in Telangana was 29,21,828 and the government used to incur an annual expenditure of Rs 861 crore.

The expenditure has now increased to Rs 11,628 crore per year, as pension amount has been hiked from Rs 200 in 2014 to Rs 2,016 per person at present.

Among other welfare schemes with a higher number of beneficiaries are Kalyana Laxmi/ Shaadi Mubarak, with a nine-year spending of Rs 11,130 crore on over 12.71 lakh people, and Dalit Bandhu scheme, with a spend of Rs 3,832 crore to 38,323 beneficiaries.

Most welfare schemes of education, land, food and health were also aimed at minorities.

The government spent Rs 1,976 crore to run SC welfare hostels for 6,11,716 students, and distributed Rs 180 crore to 1,031 SC students to pursue education abroad under the Ambedkar Overseas Scholarship scheme, in the education sector.

Also in the education sector was the increase in the number of SC residential schools from 132 to 236, ST schools from 91 to 161, BC schools from 19 to 294 and minority schools from 12 to 204, taking the total number of schools to 930 currently.

Similarly, residential degree colleges increased from 146 in 2014 to 737 at present. Over 5.5 lakh students are pursuing free residential education in these institutions.

In land schemes, the government spent Rs 769 crore to purchase 17,097 acres of land for distributing three-acre plots to each of 6,998 Dalit families.

Further, the government spent Rs 2,013 crore on industrial incentives and subsidies to over 1.6 lakh Dalit entrepreneurs. Under the TS-Pride scheme, the government spent Rs 2,747 crore on 60,904 Dalit entrepreneurs, in aid to set up their own units.

Food security also found mention, with the Rs 1-per-kg-ration rice scheme being extended to over 90 lakh card holders, covering over 2.82 crore people every month.

In health, the government spent Rs 6,823 crore on over 15.38 lakh beneficiaries under the Arogyasri scheme.

Under Rythu Bandhu scheme, launched in May 2018, the government transferred Rs 65,901 crore to over 65 lakh farmers in 10 instalments for kharif and rabi seasons every year.

Also in the agriculture sector is the free round-the-clock power supply to 27 lakh farmers, and distribution of 82.64 lakh sheep worth 'Rs ,001 crore to 3.94 lakh people of Yadav and Kurma communities.

The government also created over 15.74 lakh jobs in the private sector by approving 23,065 units, with an investment of Rs 2,61,732 under the TS-iPASS industrial approval policy.