Kishan Reddy’s bid to blame State govt on flood relief backfires

Even after taking into account the first installment released by the Centre and the State government's contribution, Telangana has around Rs.320 crore of which only Rs.32 crore is available for utilisation under the SDRF.

Hyderabad: BJP State president G Kishan Reddy landed himself in soup while attempting to blame the State government for “not utilising” Central funds provided for relief and rehabilitation in rain-affected areas under the State Disaster Relief Fund (SDRF). He had alleged on Monday that around Rs.900 crore of Central funds was at the State government’s disposal.

However, the BJP State president’s remarks were not only misleading but far from the truth as well. Under the SDRF, the Centre had allocated Rs.528 crore for the year 2023-24. Out of this amount, the Centre‘s share is Rs.396 crore and the State government’s contribution is Rs.132 crore towards the State’s share. As per the data released by the Centre itself, only Rs.188.8 crore including arrears of the previous financial year were released by the union government towards the first installment as on July 17, 2023.

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Further, as per the Disaster Management Act 2005, the State government can use up to only 10 per cent of the funds available under the State Disaster Relief Fund for providing immediate relief to victims of natural disasters.

Thus, the State government is authorised to use only up to Rs.52.8 crore of the total allocation of Rs.528 crore. Even after taking into account the first installment released by the Centre and the State government’s contribution, Telangana has around Rs.320 crore of which only Rs.32 crore is available for utilisation under the SDRF.

Taking a jibe at Kishan Reddy, Peerzadiguda Mayor Jakka Venkat Reddy said despite serving as the union Minister, Kishan Reddy lacked basic knowledge about the Disaster Management Act 2005 or was purposefully trying to mislead the people of Telangana to gain political mileage. In a series of tweets, Venkat Reddy pointed out that the BJP State president could not even differentiate between the SDRF funds allocated to Tamil Nadu (Rs.900 crore) and Telangana (Rs.396 crore).

“Upon getting appointed as the BJP State president, Kishan Reddy is trying to outperform his predecessor Bandi Sanjay in foolishness,” he said.

Disaster Management Act-2005 పై అవగాహన లేదాయే. కనీసం తమిళనాడుకు, తెలంగాణకు కూడా తేడా తెల్వదా కేంద్ర మంత్రి గారు. మీరు చెప్పిన రూ.900 కోట్ల ముచ్చట తమిళనాడు రాష్ట్రానిది. తెలంగాణ రాష్టానికి కేవలం రూ.396 కోట్లే. స్టేట్ వాటా రూ.132 కోట్లు కలిపితే రూ.528 కోట్లు అవుతుంది. చట్టం… pic.twitter.com/WwmVSLgmSF

— Jakka Venkat Reddy (@JakkaVenkat2020) July 31, 2023