Telangana a role model for entire country: Governor Tamilisai

Hyderabad, Feb  (IANS) The inclusive and comprehensive development of Telangana has become a role model for the country and with an equal focus on welfare and development, the state is progressing fast along the path of development, said Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan.

Addressing the joint session of Legislative Assembly and Council on the first day of the Budget session, she said that the state is progressing in a phenomenal manner on every front and within a short span of eight-and-a-half years, it has already become a role model for the entire country.

"The extraordinary success of the state of Telangana is due to the blessings of the people, the skillful administration by the Hon'ble Chief Minister, the hard work of the people's representatives and the dedication shown by the government employees," she said.

"There is a discussion going on across the country about the Telangana development model. My government promises to the people of the state that we will move forward with the same inspiration and sincerity with which we have worked so far," Tamilisai said.

The Budget session began with the Governor's address following an agreement between Raj Bhavan and the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) government early this week after a bitter rift.

The government headed by K. Chandrasekhar Rao had moved the Telangana High Court on Monday seeking direction to the Governor to approve the state Budget. The court, however, advised both the sides to sort out the issue through talks and not to drag the court into it.

The counsels of Raj Bhavan and the state government held talks during which the government agreed to begin the session with the customary address by the Governor while the Governor consented to approve the Budget.

Last year, the Budget session was held without the Governor's address, triggering a row.

"There was a time when the state suffered due to power cuts and darkness across the state ... today due to the efforts made and hard work done by my government, there is 24 hours power supply and there is brightness and light everywhere. There was a time when the entire agriculture sector was distressed, today, the state is able to supply food to the rest of the country and has become the granary of the country," the Governor said in her speech.

"There was a time when people used to fight for every drop of water.. from there, the state today is able to supply treated and safe drinking water, through taps to every household of the state. There was a time when the rural areas presented a picture of poverty and distress.. from there today Telangana villages are completely transformed and have become models with a very high quality of life. Telangana today is investor friendly, attracts the top class companies and multinationals, in IT and other sectors. The state is making rapid progress. In protecting the environment and increasing the greenery also, the state is getting accolades across the world," she added.

Tamilisai said the state faced innumerable challenges to bring the state from a desperate situation to what has become a model for the rest of the country. "The whole country today is in awe of the progress made by Telangana. Today the state is not only economically strong but also one of the top performers in the country in welfare and development."

The Governor mentioned that Athe total receipts of the state which were a mere Rs 62,000 crores in 2014-15, have increased to Rs 1,84,000 crores by 2O2L-22. The per capita income of the state which was Rs 7,24,1O4 in 2014-15 has increased to Rs 3,17,115 by 2022-23.

She listed out the achievements made by the state in various sectors and the implementation of different schemes for welfare of farmers, women, youth, backward classes, scheduled castes, scheduled tribes and minorities.