KTR slams Centre for its indifference towards flood-affected Telangana

Prime Minister Modi sanctioned Rs 669 crore within four days after Karnataka witnessed floods recently. In 2017, he personally visited Gujarat during floods and released Rs 500 crore.

Hyderabad: TRS working president and Municipal Administration Minister K T Rama Rao came down hard on the BJP government at the Centre on Sunday for its indifferent attitude towards Telangana State in extending financial aid during the recent floods.

“Prime Minister Narendra Modi is very prompt in extending assistance to BJP-ruled States, but does not release a single paisa to Telangana State for flood relief operations despite requests from Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao,” he said.

Speaking to mediapersons at Telangana Bhavan here, Rama Rao said the Chief Minister wrote a letter to the Prime Minister seeking financial assistance of Rs 1,350 crore. “Even 25 days after the letter was written, there has been no response from the Centre,” he said, and pointed out that the same Prime Minister sanctioned Rs 669 crore within four days when Karnataka witnessed floods recently. In 2017, Modi personally conducted an aerial survey of Gujarat during floods and released Rs 500 crore immediately, he said.

“The Prime Minister responds to the Chief Ministers of Karnataka and Gujarat, but not to letters written by the Chief Minister of Telangana. Is Telangana not a part of India? Does the Prime Minister not have the responsibility to
help the flood-hit Hyderabad city and its people?” he demanded to know.

The TRS working president reminded that since 2014, Telangana’s contribution to the Centre in the form of taxes was Rs 2,72,926 crore whereas the Centre had devolved only Rs 1,40,329 crore to Telangana State as mandated
by the Constitution. He made it clear that the Centre did not give even a paisa of additional fund.

Rama Rao rubbished the allegations of Opposition parties on relief measures and demanded to know where they were when the entire State administration along with elected representatives of TRS were fully involved in relief and rehabilitation activities in the flood-affected areas. “Both Congress and BJP leaders visited the flood-affected areas only after the waters receded,” he added.

“While we were on the ground reaching out to people and providing relief measures in the rain-affected areas in Hyderabad, BJP and Congress leaders were busy campaigning in Dubbak constituency. They were indulging in politics during the crisis,” the TRS working president said.

The Minister wondered what the contribution of Telangana BJP leaders was for Hyderabad especially during the recent floods. He said the BJP leadership with a Union Minister of State and four MPs failed to fetch even a penny for the city. “Instead, they came up with Mana Nagaram-Mana BJP slogan recently. It is a shame,” he added.

Calling the Congress party a ‘Nadaan Dushman’, Rama Rao said that the Congress never cared for the health and hygiene of people. They never worked for it. But the TRS government has set up 350 basthi dawakhanas and also constructed public toilents for the urban poor. He also blamed the previous governments in erstwhile Andhra Pradesh for their callousness towards encroachment of tanks and nalas as well as ignoring unauthorised constructions which in turn resulted in the recent inundation.

“We are not trying to wash off our hands. We have already started making efforts to improve the conditions. But it will take a few years for us to rectify decades of mistakes committed by the successive governments in undivided Andhra Pradesh,” he said.

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