State government's intention was not to fill its coffers with money collected from the poor: KCR

Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao categorically said on Thursday that the State government’s intention was not to fill its coffers with money collected from the poor through regularization of lands as part of revenue reforms introduced in the State.

“While implementing the new Revenue Acts, public representatives and officials should ensure that the poor are not affected adversely. The fruits of these should reach the poor and to the last person,” the Chief Minister said, urging public representatives and officials to work 24×7 hours for the implementation of the new Acts that were people-centric and brought in for the welfare of the people.

Speaking at a review meeting at Pragathi Bhavan with public representatives from municipal areas and Mayors, Chandrashekhar Rao urged them to get involved at the ground level to ensure that non-agriculture properties like plots, flats and houses that are not registered online yet go through the process.

Stating that several Acts that are being implemented in the State as part of revolutionary administrative reforms programmes should be useful to people for decades to come, the Chief Minister instructed the officials concerned to come up with solutions to problems faced by people with regard to lands and properties before the Dharani portal becomes fully operational. He also decided to solve all the problems related to residential properties, construction sites, and property issues, which have remained unsolved for decades now.

“In the initial days of State formation, people who opposed the State predicted that land rates would fall in the new State. With the measures taken by the State government, land rates in Telangana State – both agriculture and non-agriculture – are reaching peak demand. Due to good governance, there has been a decline in land disputes, land grabbing incidents, harassment, land mafia activities and the rowdyism,” he said, adding that the visible development has doubled the famous Hyderabadi culture of Ganga Jamuna Tehjeeb.

Communities like Parsis, Marwaris, Gujaratis, Maharashtrians, and Sindhis have settled down in Hyderabad maintaining their culture and constructing their temples without any fear, he said, adding that people from rural areas who experienced drought-like situation in their native villages in undivided Andhra Pradesh migrated to Hyderabad and settled down.

“The poor among the Muslims have settled down not only in the Old City but also in other places in the new City. Poverty has no caste or



religion. Our government works beyond the boundaries of caste, religion or class,” the Chief Minister said.

“When Acts are made to bring in qualitative change in society, the poor should be high on the agenda. This aim will be fulfilled once the Dharani Portal becomes operational. There will be total security and protection for the properties of the poor,” he asserted.

By giving green passbooks for agriculture lands and maroon passbook for non-agriculture properties, Chandrashekhar Rao said every inch of property would be registered online. “In slum areas that used to have huts, buildings and proper houses are coming up with the development. People have given us a wonderful majority and elected us. They gave their hearts to us. We have to really work hard for the people who gave us a historic victory and extended their overwhelming support,” he said.

Pointing out that government decisions would be in favour of beneficiaries of GO 58, 59 and those poor who have constructed houses and living in them for decades, he said public representatives and officials should leave other works and visit all the wards, collected details of people’s properties and ensure that they are registered online. “Update even the minutest detail about land and properties,” he said.

When the Chief Minister asked the public representatives and Mayors present at the meeting to speak, they brought to his notice the decades-old problems and issues pertaining to lands and properties in their respective areas. Chandrashekhar Rao asked the officials concerned to make note of these issues, and directed them to prepare guidelines to solve these problems immediately.

Senior public representatives present at the meeting said that in their long political career, they had not seen any Chief Minister who had such in-depth knowledge and comprehension about the problems in rural and urban areas including Hyderabad. “The visionary decisions taken by the Chief Minister from time to time for the welfare of the poor had brought in a festive atmosphere all over the State,” they said.

Ministers KT Rama Rao, Mahmood Ali, Sabita Indra Reddy, Talasani Srinivas Yadav, Errabelli Dayakar Rao, Vemula Prashanth Reddy, Ch Mallareddy, Gangula Kamalakar, Puvvada Ajay Kumar, Deputy Speaker Padma Rao, MIM Floor Leader in the Assembly Akbaruddin Owaisi, Hyderabad mayor Bonthu Rammohan, Chief Secretary Somesh Kumar, MLAs, Mayors and senior officials participated in the meeting.