KCR releases BRS manifesto for Telangana polls with several promises

Hyderabad: BRS supremo and Telangana chief minister K Chandrashekhar Rao (KCR) on Sunday, October 15, released the party’s manifesto for the upcoming state polls to be held on November 30.

On the occasion, KCR said that post the formation of Telangana in 2014, the BRS introduced policies for the state after detailed research, keeping in mind the prevailing conditions in the state.

“In order to better conditions in the state, we understood that wealth has to be created and then distributed. We took the value of the state budget to Rs 3 lakh crore. The GSDP of the state increased by two and a half times. The Per Capita income increased as well. We gave equal priority to welfare and development. Telangana stood as an example to the country in both welfare and capital expenditure,” he said.

KCR further stated that Telangana is the best in economic policy, power policy, drinking water policy, irrigation, agriculture, Dalit policy, welfare, education, health, industrial and housing policies.

“We will continue all these successful policies in their current shape and improve and add depending on the requirement,” he said.

Promises made by the BRS in its manifesto

• The party announced ‘KCR Bheema- Prati Intiki Dheema‘ insurance scheme for 93 lakh families below the poverty line (BPL) will be covered under ‘KCR Bheema’. The scheme will function similarly to Rythu Bheema (Farmers’ insurance) and up to Rs 5 lakhs will be provided.

The government will bear 100% of the premium. This scheme will not only improve the life of the poor but also help in strengthening the government-owned Life Insurance Corporation of India.

KCR

• From April- May 2024, fine rice (Sanna biyyam) will be provided to all ration card holders, under BRS’ new ‘Telangana Annapurna Scheme’

• Senior citizens and widows will receive Aasara pensions which will go up by Rs 500 each year, By the end of the tenure, the pension will be Rs 5000 per individual. Currently, the monthly pension delivered under this scheme is Rs 2016.

• Pension for the differently abled will be increased to Rs 6016 from the current value of Rs 4016 gradually in the next five years, he said.

By committing to a gradual increase, the economy of the state will not be burdened all of a sudden. We have created a manifesto responsibly by carefully assessing the possibilities.

KCR

• Rythu Bandhu, the farmers’ insurance will be gradually increased to Rs 15,000 per acre. Currently, Rs 10000 is delivered to the bank accounts of farmers’ per annum.

Nobody in the country thought about the idea of providing crop support to farmers. The BRS is Raithu Bandhu‘s creator. This policy was not in the party’s manifesto and was not promised. Raithu Bandhu was brought in with the idea to bring farmers out of the debt trap and stabilise farming. We brought the scheme and we will only enlarge it

KCR

• “We will also continue the policy on procurement of rice,” the BRS supremo promised

KCR also announced the new ‘Soubhagya Lakshmi scheme’ under which Rs 3000 will be delivered to women below the poverty line (BPL)

BRS has always prioritised women’s welfare since the beginning. A lot of our schemes are named after women. This is another scheme created with a humanitarian attitude, he remarked.

KCR

• Gas cylinders will be delivered at a subsidy of Rs 400 to all eligible BPL families. KCR promised to extend the scheme to accredited journalists.

The BJP led Centre has put common people under lot of pressure by increasing the prices of the LPG cylinder. The BRS has recieved a lot of requests from women to ease them of this burden. We will provide LPG cylinder at Rs 400 to women under BPL and the rest of the bill will be endured by the state government.

KCR

• Renaming the Aarogya Sree health insurance scheme, the BRS promised an increase in treatment limit to Rs 15 lakhs treatment limit under the new ‘KCR Arogaya Raksha’ to all eligible individuals. KCR also promised to extend the Rs 15 lakh insurance scheme to accredited journalists along with state government employees.

The BRS has brought in revolutionary changes to the health sector. We are providing corporate level health facilities to the common folk for free. Currently, the ceiling under Aarogya Sree is at Rs 5 lakh per person. Once the BRS is elected, it will be increased to Rs 15 lakhs.

KCR

• KCR said that vacant lands have been identified for the poor and another 1 lakh double bedrooms will be constructed under the government’s 2BHK policy in Hyderabad

• Residential schools will be built, one in each constituency, for students of Economically Weaker Sections in the dominant castes. Some of the junior government colleges will be converted into residential colleges.

The Telangana goverment has prioritised residential schools and the policy has shown good results. More of such schools will be established in the coming days.

KCR

• KCR stated that the BRS government will build and deliver offices for women self-help groups and full ownership will be given to the organisations over them.

• The chief minister also promised to set up a committee to assess demands from government employees for the Old Pension Scheme (OPS). “We will take a call based on the committee’s assessment,” he added.

• The BRS chief further said that the state government will adopt orphan children and term them as ‘state’s children’. “Process is already underway regarding the particulars,” he added.

• KCR said that assigned lands will be made free from hold and a policy will be made as early as possible regarding the subject

For Journalists,

• The final point in the BRS manifesto stated that minority welfare would be increased once the BRS came to power.

KCR asked the party candidates to reach out to cadres during their poll campaign for the assembly elections to be held on November 30.

Addressing the contesting candidates before handing over the B Forms, KCR said that except for five or six, all sitting MLAs have been given tickets to contest the assembly polls. B-Forms is proof that a particular candidate is put up by a political party in the election. In August, KCR announced the candidates for 115 out of the total 119 assembly seats.

51 candidates received B Forms along with a cheque of Rs 40 lakhs on the occasion from the party chief. He said that B Forms for the rest of the candidates got delayed due to ‘time restraints’ and will soon be delivered.

“Except five or six sitting MLAs, all were given tickets to contest the polls. I am happy about that. There will be several opportunities for those who did not get MLA tickets,” the BRS president said.