Editorial: Telangana on a high

Telangana may be the youngest State in the country, just into its seventh year of existence, but when it comes to bagging top ranks on various fronts, it has been giving other well-established major States a run for their money. In the past one month alone, Telangana has been in the news for its rapid-fire […]

Telangana may be the youngest State in the country, just into its seventh year of existence, but when it comes to bagging top ranks on various fronts, it has been giving other well-established major States a run for their money. In the past one month alone, Telangana has been in the news for its rapid-fire progress in the country’s indices on health, good governance, online auditing of Gram Panchayats and ODF. Contrary to the opposition claims that the public health system in the State was in a shambles, the NITI Aayog, in its overall Health Index report, spoke highly of Telangana, pointing out that the State outperformed other States, in recording the highest incremental progress in the country. And mind you, this report is based on Telangana’s performance in the health sector in the 2019-20 financial year. Since then, the State has made rapid strides in the health sector, particularly ramping up medical infra in the face of the threat posed by the continuing pandemic. In the case of online auditing of Panchayat Raj institutes, Telangana is miles ahead of others and is the only State to achieve not only 100% coverage of all the 12,769 gram panchayats but is also in the process of completing online auditing of Zilla Parishads and Block Parishads. The third major recent achievement for Telangana was its stellar performance in the Good Governance Index. The State topped the ranking in commerce and industry and social welfare and development, all three key areas that indicate the State government’s commitment towards not only progress and development but also welfare of various sections of society. Telangana has already been in the forefront of Ease of Doing Business besides seeing a massive increase in agriculture production that catapulted the State into the top position in the sector. Its flagship programme, Rythu Bandhu, is probably one of the most talked about schemes outside Telangana. This investment support scheme for farmers has crossed the Rs 50,000- crore-mark in just three-and-a-half years.

It is against this backdrop of development, progress and achievements that the allegations of opposition BJP and Congress about Telangana being a laggard sound hollow and fall flat. In the absence of any genuine issue of public concern, the opposition parties, totally clueless and on the edge, have been crying hoarse about a crumbling administration. They have not only been levelling baseless allegations but also resorting to below-the-belt personal attacks against the TRS leadership and their families. It is absurd for the State leadership of the BJP to target the State government when Central agencies and union Ministers are heaping praise on Telangana for the rapid progress it has made on various fronts. In the case of the Congress, the less said the better since the party has not been able to put its own house in order in the first place. If the two parties can’t be a constructive opposition, the least they can do is refrain from being destructive and obstructive.

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