BRS Looted Public Money to Fund Its Media Houses, Says Ponguleti

Hyderabad: Minister Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy said on Wednesday accused the previous BRS government of looting public money under the guise of advertisements and generously diverted public money to run its newspapers and media channels.

Replying to the debate on demand for grants for I&PR revenue and housing departments in the Assembly on Wednesday, Srinivas Reddy said that he was ready for an open discussion on how much was spent on BRS-owned media over the past 10 years.

During the previous BRS government’s term, he said Rs 564.40 crore was spent for publicity in other states, misusing the money meant for the poor for personal publicity.

Additionally, thousands of crores were spent on the BRS-leaning media houses, while the current government spent only Rs 200 crore over the last 16 months within Telangana.

Srinivas Reddy illustrated the misuse by showing how their Telugu newspaper launched in 2014 was paid Rs 875 per cm for advertisements, increased to Rs 1,150 in 2016, and further to Rs 1,500 in 2019 — equal to a Telugu newspaper having the highest circulation. This shows clear favouritism, he said.

Similarly, their English newspaper was paid Rs 1,000 per cm in 2017, raised to Rs 2,000 by 2019, while the top English newspaper price was still at Rs 1,000. This demonstrates the scale of exploitation, he said.

In TV advertisements, BRS channel was paid Rs 3,000 per second, while other top channels got Rs 2,500 and Rs 3,000. These rates expose how public money was misused, he said, and added that these are just a few examples — he is ready for a debate anywhere on these issues.

Srinivas Reddy announced that the new Bhu Bharati Act, designed to provide a permanent solution to the land and Dharani portal issues, will be implemented starting April. It is intended to serve as a national model, ensuring relief for Telangana citizens burdened by problems caused by the Dharani portal and the RoR Act of 2020.

Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi, Chief Minister Revanth Reddy, and Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka had promised to abolish Dharani during the elections — and now, that promise will be fulfilled. Dharani will be scrapped and replaced with the people-friendly Bhu Bharati, he said.

Following the Governor’s assent to Bhu Bharati Act, within three months, comprehensive rules and procedures were developed through wide consultation with experts, retired officials, and district collectors in a two-day workshop. Learning from the failures of the 2020 RoR Act, which was implemented without any rules, the new system has been carefully crafted.

Since December 7, 2023, over 6 lakh applications have been received on Dharani issues, and more than five lakh have already been resolved.

The government has kept its promise of taking back Dharani management from the foreign company, which was given control in November 2020 by the previous BRS government, he said.

Srinivas Reddy said the BRS government had suddenly scrapped the VRO/VAO system, disrupting basic revenue services in rural areas. The Congress government is reviving these services by appointing Village Administrative Officers in all 10,954 revenue villages. About 6,000 qualified individuals who previously worked as VROs/VAOs will be given the option to rejoin through a test-based selection process.

A forensic audit will be conducted into land-related irregularities during the BRS government’s tenure, as previously announced in the Assembly, the minister said.

Srinivas Reddy said the government has launched the Indiramma Housing Scheme to ensure every poor person has a home. This was neglected by the BRS government, which promised double-bedroom houses but failed to deliver.