KTR writes to CM Revanth Reddy asking to ensure free LRS

In a letter addressed to Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy, he said the Congress Party as part of its poll campaign, had assured the people of implementing the LRS free of cost

Hyderabad: BRS working president KT Rama Rao on Saturday requested the State government to release guidelines for the layout regularisation scheme without collecting any charges. In a letter addressed to Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy, he said the Congress Party as part of its poll campaign, had assured the people of implementing the LRS free of cost. He wanted the government to honour the commitment given to the people by the party leaders keeping in mind the interest of 25.44 lakh applicants.

As the main opposition, the BRS had put before the government the demand of the people for implementation of the LRS without charges and pressed for its implementation by presenting memoranda to RDOs and Collectors and organising a State-wide protest. He said the Congress government, which was out to break its promise with its move for collecting charges for layout regularisation, owed an apology to the people.

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He recalled that Congress leaders including Revanth Reddy and his cabinet colleagues, Mallu Bhatti Vikaramarka, N Uttam Kumar Reddy, Seethakka, Komatireddy Venkat Reddy and others had gone on record assuring people that the LRS would be implemented free of cost. They had gone to the extent of dubbing the charges sought to be levied on the implementation of the scheme as a sort of extortion. They also went to the extent of questioning whether the government would bring in a marriage regularisation scheme in the future to levy change on the line of the LRS.

Deputy Chief Minister Bhatti Vikramarka, during the last elections, had called the LRS as a means for extortion of money from the people. If that was so, why was the Congress government planning to levy charges on the same scheme now, he wondered.

Quoting Seethakka, he said the government had sought to suck the blood of the people in the form of LRS. Komatireddy Venkat Reddy had moved the court challenging the LRS. It would be better if the government comes out with an explanation on the reversal of its stand in respect of the LRS charges, he insisted.

He questioned as to why the government that was widely campaigning for public governance, public welfare, implementation of guarantees was out to burden the poor and middle class to the extent of Rs 20,000 crore in the form of LRS. The government had sought to levy Rs.1 lakh on an average from 25.44 lakh families in the State.

He demanded the government to regularise the plots of the applicants without taking even a single rupee as regularisation fee.