TRS out with populist schemes

Naveen S Garewal

Tribune News Service

Hyderabad, October 16

Caretaker Chief Minister and Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) president Kalvakuntla Chandrashekar Rao (KCR) has come out with several incentives and populist schemes in its election manifesto for the December 7 Assembly elections.

Though the formal manifesto will be released after it is cleared by the Election Commission, the party’s election manifesto committee that met here today has cleared a stipend for unemployed youth, an enhancement in old-age pension, funding for construction for people with land and many more populist schemes.

The Election Manifesto Committee that met under the chairmanship of KCR has in principal decided to include in its manifesto promises like increase in Aasara pension for the old, funding for construction of double bedroom houses for beneficiaries who own land and increase in salaries of contract and outsourced employees.

Besides promising to continue with social welfare schemes like Rythu Bandhu, Rythu Bhima, sheep distribution and other subsidies benefiting over 72 lakh farmers, the TRS manifesto will include initiatives for farmers and marginalised sections of society. There are some 15-plus schemes meant for the farming community. Agriculture remains a priority area of the TRS, since formation of Telangana state in 2014.

The Aasara pension schemes will not be limited to the old, but would include 40 lakh beneficiaries that spread across the aged, single women, beedi workers, toddy tapper, differently abled and widows. The government is spending Rs 5,500 crore every year on the scheme giving between Rs 200 and Rs 1,000 per person each month. The manifesto promises to substantially raise this amount.

In Manifesto...

• Pension to go up from Rs 1,000 to Rs 2,000 and Rs 3,000
• Unemployment dole up to Rs 3,000
• Increase in aid to farmers by Rs 8,000 to 10,000 per acre per year
• Plans to spend Rs 15,000 cr on welfare of SCs and STs