బీఆర్ఎస్ పాలన 2014–2023: కీలక నిర్ణయాలు, చర్చలు

BRS in power, 2014–2023: The key decisions and the debates

From June 2, 2014 to December 2023 — nearly nine and a half years — the new Telangana state was ruled by the TRS (later BRS) led by K. Chandrasekhar Rao. Here we review the key decisions taken during that period, and the discussions that took place on them, that laid the foundations of the new state.

Agriculture — Rythu Bandhu, 24-hour electricity

Under the "Rythu Bandhu" scheme, which was launched in 2018, a fixed amount per acre per season was directly deposited in the accounts of farmers. The party says that this is the first of its kind in the country and is also an inspiration for the PM-KISAN scheme that was later introduced by the Centre. Insurance ("Rythu Bima") was also introduced for farmers. Another important decision is to provide 24-hour free electricity to agriculture from 2018.

Criticism: The opposition and experts have criticized that the money is going to everyone who owns land — even large landowners who do not cultivate it — and that tenant farmers are not benefiting.

Water projects

Mission Kakatiya (renovation of ponds), Mission Bhagiratha (drinking water to every household), and the Kaleshwaram lift irrigation scheme are the major projects of this period. The government has touted Kaleshwaram as one of the largest multi-stage lift irrigation schemes in the world. However, the collapse of the Medigadda Barrage pillars in October 2023 has raised serious questions about the quality and cost of the project.

Welfare schemes

Schemes like Kalyanalakshmi-Shaadi Mubarak (financial assistance for the marriage of girls from poor families), Aasara pensions, KCR Kit (kit and financial assistance for mothers and children after childbirth), expansion of Gurukul schools, and Dalita Bandhu (large amount of assistance for self-employment to Dalit families) have been implemented in 2021. The increase in the number of deliveries in government hospitals is said to be the effect of KCR Kit.

Administrative reforms

In 2016, 10 districts were reorganized into 31 districts (later 33). The aim was to bring governance closer to the people. New mandals and village panchayats were also formed. A single window system like TS-iPass was introduced for industrial permits. A new secretariat was built and named after Dr. B.R. Ambedkar. The reconstruction of the Yadadri temple also took place during this period.

Dharani Portal

In 2020, the "Dharani" portal for land records was introduced. The government said that the goal was to digitize land records and reduce corruption. But there were lakhs of complaints about errors in the records and lack of a proper mechanism for correction. This issue became a big topic of discussion in the 2023 elections.

Jobs, exams

"Recruitment" was one of the slogans of the movement. Recruitments were made in the police, gurukul and other departments during this period. However, the delay in high-level recruitments like Group-1 and the leak of TSPSC question papers in 2023 caused deep anger among the unemployed youth.

Financial status

During this period, the state's per capita income increased significantly above the national average. Hyderabad's IT and pharma sectors strengthened. At the same time, there was criticism that the state's debt burden increased due to loans taken for large projects, and that loans taken by corporations were not fully reflected in the budget.

Conclusion

Recognition of the new state, new models for welfare, and huge infrastructure projects — these are the highlights of the BRS regime. Protests, delays in appointments, quality of projects, and debts — these are the criticisms. People wanted change in 2023. History still needs time to assess any regime in a balanced way.

Photo: Department of Language and Culture, Government of Telangana / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)