Many Steps Forward, and Not a Mention of Graft

Hyderabad:Mobilising a whopping `20,000 crore for the farm loan waiver, despite a financial crunch, and implementing most of the poll promises including recruitment for more than 50,000 government jobs were major achievements of Revanth Reddy-led Congress government, which took power on December 7 last year.

The government was a mix of first-timers including the Chief Minister, and Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka, and seniors like N. Uttam Kumar Reddy and Damodar Rajanarsimha. Together they pulled off the first year in power showing a greater degree of fiscal discipline as reflected in mobilising funds to meet poll promises without selling land or other assets or the government or imposing fresh tax burden on people.

Significantly, none of the ministers faced allegations of corruption in the past year. “Show me one instance where either I or my Cabinet colleagues violated norms and favoured private individuals or entities,” said the Chief Minister in an informal conversation with Deccan Chronicle.

He also referred to the government not compromising on the state interests in case of land in what he said was a sharp contrast to the largescale irregularities in handing over government land worth thousands of crores of rupees on a platter to private claimants during the BRS regime.

Revanth Reddy also sent across a message of running a clean administration by choosing a bureaucrat noted for his integrity, V. Seshadri, to head the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO). The appointment of senior police officials K. Srinivas Reddy and Avinash Mohanty as commissioners of Hyderabad and Cyberabad respectively also sent good vibes, though Srinivas Reddy had to move out apparently following the complaints of police excesses in the Old City.

However, a spate of incidents of food poisoning in state-run welfare hostels has left a blot on the administration and even overshadowed the steep increase of 40 per cent in diet and cosmetic charges that the Chief Minister ordered.

Owners of private properties in which the gurukul colleges and hostels are being run locked their premises demanding arrears in rentals and uniformed men hit the roads demanding better working conditions.

The government has also allowed the Opposition BRS to build a narrative of “underperformance.” The government as well as the Congress, according to its own leaders, failed to counter the aggressive campaign of the Opposition, in particular the BRS, despite the performance of the administration.

The most talked-about initiative of the government, HYDRAA, which was launched with the noble cause of protecting water bodies and government land by clearing encroachments, saw the government undertake mid-course corrections amid an Opposition outcry.

Revanth Reddy picked the grandiose plan of rejuvenating the Musi, which he will leave his mark on the city's history.