Congress admits BRS achievements in Housing and Jobs in the Assembly

The Congress government admitted in the Assembly that several welfare, housing and recruitment initiatives were carried out under the previous BRS regime, contradicting its earlier criticism and reflecting a shift in its policy stance

Hyderabad: The Congress government has been forced to acknowledge in the ongoing Assembly the previous BRS government’s achievements in different fields, contradicting its earlier criticism of welfare and development programmes.

Before the elections, the Congress had accused the BRS of failing to build houses for the poor and misleading people on job recruitment. However, statements made in the Assembly now present a different picture.

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Housing Minister Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy informed the House that 2,31,206 double-bedroom houses were sanctioned during the previous government’s tenure. Of these, 1,62,936 units were completed, with only minor infrastructure works pending. He added that completed houses with basic facilities had already been allotted to beneficiaries. These figures flew in the face of the Congress leaders’ earlier claims that no houses were constructed under the BRS government.

On the employment front, the Congress government admitted that it has filled only 16,978 posts through notifications issued since December 2023. It also stated that 50,785 jobs were filled by completing recruitment processes initiated by the previous BRS government. This stands in contrast to Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy’s repeated claim that 70,000 jobs were provided after the Congress came to power.

The State government also acknowledged progress in other sectors. IT Minister D Sridhar Babu said the Centre had appreciated the T-FIBER project, calling it a model for other states. The broadband initiative was launched during the BRS regime.

In respect of agriculture, the Congress government had to perform a somersault on its stance on paddy cultivation. After criticising the earlier government for advising farmers against paddy cultivation, it is now promoting the same by encouraging crop diversification.

Agriculture Minister Tummala Nageswara Rao urged legislators to create awareness among farmers on crop diversification. He highlighted that nearly 20 lakh acres in the State were suitable for oil palm cultivation. Oil palm farming was earlier promoted by the BRS government, which had also provided incentives to farmers.