TRS reiterated its demand for Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Scheme

The Telangana Rashtra Samithi reiterated its demand for according National Project (NP) status for the prestigious Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Scheme and special grants from the Centre for completion of the project. The party also took up pending issues pertaining to the State in Parliament on Monday.

Participating in a discussion on the Finance Bill in the Lok Sabha on Monday, TRS floor leader A P Jithender Reddy pointed out that the K Chandrashekhar Rao government took up the mega irrigation project to change the agricultural landscape of Telangana State. He also invited fellow Parliamentarians to visit the one-of-its-kind project and see for themselves its magnitude.He expressed displeasure over the Central government not making any budgetary allocation for such a huge irrigation project.

Jithender Reddy explained how Telangana’s Rythu Bandhu scheme was a game-changer in the agriculture sector and helped TRS retain power in the State. “TRS learnt two lessons — farmers cannot be ignored and farm loan waiver was a necessity, during the recently concluded Assembly elections, in the State. Funds allocated for the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN) scheme are much lower than the allocation for Rythu Bandhu scheme by the TRS government,” he said.

He said Chandrashekhar Rao was a pioneer in farm investment support schemes in the country. He stated that the Telangana government was providing financial assistance of Rs 10,000 per acre per annum to all farmers in the State under Rythu Bandhu scheme. “We are spending Rs 15,000 crore per year, but the Central government scheme provides a mere Rs 2,800 crore to the State from about Rs 75,000 crore allocated for PM-KISAN,” he added.

The Mahabubnagar MP also expressed dissatisfaction over reduction of funds for the much-awaited tribal university in erstwhile Warangal district. However, he thanked the Union government for allotting funds to the doubling work and bridge construction in his constituency under South Central Railway. He demanded more higher education institutions in the State. He alleged that more funds and projects were allocated to Andhra Pradesh, compared to Telangana State.