Harish Rao slams Congress over municipal funding, LRS promises and stalled urban projects in Telangana

BRS MLA T. Harish Rao accused the Congress government of neglecting municipalities by halting Pattana Pragathi funds, failing to release finance commission grants, and reversing its promise of free LRS. He demanded reinstatement of Special Development Funds and equal treatment for all constituencies.

Hyderabad: Voicing serious concerns over the State government’s failure to allocate funds for municipalities and unfulfilled promises pertaining to urban development, former Minister and BRS MLA T. Harish Rao said on Sunday that despite 22 months of Congress rule, the Municipal Administration department, under Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy’s direct control, had not established any new municipalities or provided adequate funding for the existing ones.

Joining the discussion over the Municipality Amendment Bill in the State Legislative Assembly, he strongly criticized the Congress government, emphasizing that the focus should not be on the number of municipalities created but on their development and financial support. Citing Siddipet’s municipality as an example, which has 120,000 voters, he pointed out that even basic operations like fogging lack funding, reflecting the total neglect the municipality was subjected to by the government.

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He contrasted this with the BRS government’s tenure, which provided monthly funds under the Pattana Pragathi programme, a practice discontinued by the current administration. Additionally, Rao noted that no finance commission funds were released due to the absence of municipal elections. He, however, expressed his support for the bill, which incorporates certain gram panchayats into municipalities.

Rao also criticized the Congress government’s handling of the Layout Regularisation Scheme (LRS) and recalled the Congress Party’s pre-election promise to implement LRS free of cost, accusing them of hypocrisy for now collecting fees from the public. He warned that public sentiment could soon turn against Congress, with people chanting “No LRS, No Congress.” Rao demanded clarity on how LRS funds would be allocated for municipal development, as per the existing law, and questioned the government’s commitment to releasing these funds.

Rao also questioned the Congress government on the canceling of Special Development Fund (SDF) allocations for constituencies like Sangareddy, Zaheerabad and Patancheru, previously sanctioned at Rs.50 crore each by former Chief Minister K. Chandrashekhar Rao. He urged the government to reinstate these funds and allocate budgets for ongoing Telangana Urban Finance and Infrastructure Development Corporation (TUFIDC) projects, which were stalled in several areas except in Minister Ponnam Prabhakar’s constituency. Rao called for equal treatment of all regions and transparency in fund allocation to ensure municipalities can function effectively.