After Praja Palana and caste surveys, Congress Govt plans yet another survey

The Congress government is planning another survey to identify families in extreme poverty, even as questions persist over the outcomes of previous exercises such as Praja Palana and the SEEPC survey, with critics citing lack of clarity on data utilisation.

Hyderabad: Since coming to power in the State, the Congress government has undertaken a series of large-scale initiatives to map the social, economic and caste profile of citizens and is now planning another one, raising questions about the fate and outcomes of the previous exercises.

After the Praja Palana outreach programme, the Socio-Economic, Education, Employment, Political and Caste (SEEPC) survey was conducted extensively across the State. Now, another initiative is being planned by the Panchayat Raj and Rural Development (PRRD) department. Under the proposed exercise, the department plans to comprehensively identify families living in extreme poverty and provide them the required assistance. Women self-help groups are being roped in to identify the poorest households.

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PRRD Minister D Anasuya has directed officials to focus on identifying the most deprived sections, assessing their needs and preparing an action plan to eliminate poverty in phases.

However, even as the initiative is being projected as a welfare-driven measure, questions are being raised over the government’s intent and approach. Several sections allege that repeated surveys are being used to buy time, with little clarity on how the massive data already collected has been utilised to fulfil promises made to the people.

Soon after assuming office, the Congress government conducted the Praja Palana outreach programme from December 28, 2023, to January 6, 2024, during which citizens submitted applications detailing their social and economic status and sought benefits under the six guarantees announced by the government.

During the programme, the government received 1,25,84,383 applications, of which 1,05,91,636 pertained to the five guarantees, while the remaining 19.93 lakh related to other issues. A total of 1,11,46,293 households were covered across 12,769 gram panchayats and 3,623 municipal wards.

A sub-committee was constituted to process the applications. However, the exercise was marred by incidents such as applications being found strewn under the Balanagar flyover, leading to the suspension of a GHMC official for negligence. Even so, the status of the Praja Palana applications remains unclear till date.

This was followed by the SEEPC survey, launched on November 6, 2024. Under the door-to-door exercise, data of over three crore people, including caste, income, assets and other details, was collected to guide welfare policies for backward classes and marginalised sections, with more than 95,000 enumerators involved.

The government had described the survey as an X-ray of Telangana, claiming it would enable more effective delivery of benefits, especially to the poor. Against this backdrop, the PRRD department’s proposal for another survey has triggered apprehensions, with critics questioning the rationale for fresh data collection when previous exercises are yet to translate into visible outcomes.

“During the SEEPC survey, extensive and comprehensive data was collected. At this juncture, proposing another survey is difficult to justify,” a senior official associated with the exercise said.

Such moves, the official cautioned, could undermine the credibility of earlier initiatives and further fuel scepticism among the public.