Telangana Govt to Roll Out Family Digital Cards Soon

Hyderabad:Revenue minister Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy on Tuesday said the state government would roll out a family digital card initiative aimed at creating a comprehensive health profile of every family regardless of their economic background.

The smart cards, each featuring a unique number, are designed to serve citizens across all income groups.

Speaking at a video conference at the secretariat, Srinivas Reddy, along with Chief Secretary A Santhi Kumari, addressed district collectors on the digital card project. The conference covered a range of topics including urban development authority (UDA), land regularisation scheme (LRS), 2 double-bedroom houses and paddy procurement.

The minister underlined the importance of entering accurate family member details into the digital cards to avoid errors. The pilot project will initially cover 238 areas across 119 constituencies with field-level data collection to take place from October 3 to 7. The initiative will involve both urban and rural areas, with specific officers assigned to monitor the process.

A special team of Telangana officials conducted research by visiting Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka and Haryana to study similar schemes. Based on their findings, a report was submitted to the cabinet sub-committee and Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy. The pilot project's results will guide decisions on expanding the program statewide.

Srinivas Reddy expressed dissatisfaction with the slow progress of the LRS which has kept lakhs of people waiting for over four years. He urged collectors to expedite the resolution of pending applications, noting that some districts have seen minimal progress despite receiving thousands of applications.

District collectors were also directed to submit proposals for expanding the jurisdiction of existing UDAs and forming new UDAs as necessary.

The double bedroom housing project executed by BRS government was also reviewed at the meeting. The minister instructed officials to select beneficiaries for completed houses and distribute them before Dasara festival. A district-level committee, led by the district's in-charge minister and district collector, will oversee the process.

Regarding flood relief, the state had allocated `3 crore each to 29 districts with the flood-affected districts of Khammam, Suryapet, Kothagudem and Mahbubabad receiving `5 crore each. Municipalities and corporations have been allocated `1 crore and `2 crore, respectively, for immediate repairs. Priority will be given to government schools, primary health centers, and anganwadi centres.

To support farmers, the state government will introduce a `500 per quintal bonus for farmers for 35 fine varieties of paddy during the current kharif season. The minister said that 7,144 procurement centres will be established across the state to facilitate paddy collection with separate centres for fine grains. An estimated 50 lakh metric tonnes of fine rice varieties and 30 lakh metric tonnes of non-fine rice varieties are expected this season.

District collectors were instructed to personally oversee the procurement process to ensure that farmers face no issues during the sale of their produce.