The Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) government restored the confidence of people and investors in Hyderabad in its first year in office, state Panchayat Raj and Information Technology Minister K.Tarakarama Rao said on Thursday.
He contended that the biggest achievement of the government was that it got its priorities right, focusing on basic needs of people and their welfare.
Addressing a 'Meet the press' programme organized by Hyderabad Press Club, he said the new state was formed amid lot apprehensions and fears but the TRS was able to run the state better than thought.
Telangana will be celebrating its first anniversary on June 2 and the same day, the TRS government will be completing one year in office.
KTR, as the minister is popularly known, said though it was a new state and first experience for TRS in power, it was able to "actually run the state better than lot of people had imagined and thought".
Referring to the new investments Hyderabad is attracting including the announcements of Google and Amazon to set up their biggest campuses outside the US here, he said all those who were fearing flight of capital from the city and a blow to the IT sector had proved wrong.
"Even the intellectuals who had opposed formation of Telangana state like Sanjay Baru are now saying that their worries about Hyderabad have been put to rest," said KTR, who is son of Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao.
He said the critics were also proved wrong as the government managed to tide over the electricity shortage and ensure uninterrupted supply to all sectors even in summer.
KTR said the TRS provided transparent and corruption-free governance and restored people's confidence in government-run institutions despite the challenges it faced like the delay in bifurcation of IAS officers and state government employees.
He said the government focused on basic amenities like electricity, drinking water, roads, irrigation, education and health.
KTR said as Hyderabad is the growth engine which will drive the growth of Telangana, the government is focusing on it but disagreed that its policies are Hyderabad-centric.
He admitted that agriculture is one area where TRS has to do a lot. "It remains a matter of concern for us. The spate of suicide by farmers has to stop," he said.
KTR said there was a need for a deeper analysis as to why the crisis in agriculture was continuing despite providing free water and electricity to farmers, subsidy on seeds, fertilizers and ensuring Minimum Support Price (MSP).
He said besides waiving crop loans to the tune of Rs.17,000 crore, the government was also taking other measures to overcome the crisis in agriculture.
The minister said the top priority has been given to welfare with Rs.25,000 crore being spent annually on pensions and other social security measures. "We want Telangana to be a model welfare state in the country," he said.
KTR found no fault in legislators of Congress and Telugu Desam Party (TDP) joining TRS. "It is not uncommon in politics. There is no coercion. We are inviting them to join and they are joining," he said.
