Development Not Just Glass Structures, Says Revanth Reddy

HYDERABAD: Development is not just a few high-rise structures with glass facades or walls painted colourfully, but the integrated moral and economic progress of the people. The Congress firmly believes that the country or the state will progress only when the fruits of development cross the last mile and reach the people, Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy said on Sunday.

Speaking at the first conference of district collectors and superintendents of police at the Secretariat, Revanth Reddy cautioned the official machinery against any attempt to curtail the freedom of people or upset social justice, leading to unrest.

“Telangana people are polite, submissive and give lot of respect. But their DNA will not tolerate oppression, and have defeated parties that tested their patience,” Revanth Reddy said.

The conference was convened to discuss the modalities and conduct of gram sabhas in every habitation in the state during the special drive from December 28 to January 6.

A special officer will be appointed for each of the 119 Assembly constituencies and applications will be sent to villages and wards in urban areas in advance to avoid the rush for forms on Gram Sabha Day.

Applications over grievances will be received on a first-come-first-served basis and special arrangements will be made for women. Officials must digitalise the forms and send the data to the government which would take up scrutiny and extend benefits promised under the Six Guarantees to those eligible.

Revanth Reddy asked officials to take inspiration from former bureaucrat S.R. Sankaran, whose simplicity and dedication to work are well known. “A negative approach of officials and their thought process to reject any request from the people will derail progress,” he said.

Collectors or SPs who do not want to work for 18 hours every day may get themselves shifted from the districts, Revanth Reddy said.

Though he had criticised a section of “Bihari officers” while in the Opposition, Revanth Reddy on Sunday extended an olive branch to “outsiders”. Officers from other states must become an integral part of their cadre state and contribute to the state’s progress in their 35 years of career. “We will not discriminate against officers and they also should understand people and win over them,” he said.

Deputy Chief Minister M. Bhatti Vikramarka said there was no second thought in his government’s resolve to implement all the Six Guarantees within 100 days of coming to power. “While we urge officials to be the torchbearers in implementing schemes, we also warn them of stringent action if they lacked integrity and accountability,” he said.

Revenue minister P. Srinivas Reddy later told mediapersons that the conference, unlike on previous occasions, was more interactive and Revanth Reddy took the time to listen to the ground realities from collectors and SPs.

“We are not kings, unlike the previous rulers. It used to be one side batting earlier. But, now we have our ears to the ground,” Srinivas Reddy said.

The minister said that only white ration card holders would be eligible for five guarantees while the sixth —free travel for women in RTC buses — was being implemented in the state for women and transgender persons.