Two years of Telangana: Here are the five hits and misses of KCR rule so far

Mangalore Today News Network

Telangana, June 02, 2016: A sense of triumph on one hand and a feeling of trepidation on the other have gripped the people of Telangana. The simultaneous mix of agony and ecstasy over the hits and misses of the Telangana government led by Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) supremo and Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao is unveiled on the canvass of the 29th State of India, formed exactly two years ago on 2 June, 2014.

The TRS Government has for sure bolstered the confidence among people of all sections, especially those migrated from Andhra region to Hyderabad and other districts, that the Government is above mean and parochial regional considerations and that nobody is discriminated against on any front.

But, the lofty promises and high-decibel claims on the prospective mega schemes sound impossible, if not incredible, at least within the timeframes set forth by the Chief Minister. “We would not ask for votes, if we cannot provide all households with a tap connection by 2018 through ‘Mission Bhageeratha’ – clean drinking water supply grid,” said KCR sounding the bugle of his war-readiness about the projects. Yet, is he really ready is a million-dollar question.

Though KCR’s political legerdemain helped him consolidate his party’s position from being a fledgling political formation encountering teething troubles and struggling for existence even on the floor of the Assembly, he could not counter the charge of pursuing unethical political practices.

Either by hook or by crook, KCR ensured that his party emerged the strongest by luring a large number of MLAs from the Teliugu Desam Party, the Congress and the YSR Congress. The lone MPs from the TDP and the YSR Congress each too joined the TRS.

His action may have been politically and technically correct, but surely morally iniquitous. He should have had all those who wanted to cross over to the TRS resign from their positions and seek a re-election from their respective constituencies.

On the work front, the Chief Minister is high on promises and low on deliverance, not because of lack of commitment, but surely because of dearth of idea. Cases in point that expose the shallowness of the ideas are:

i) Building of high-rise buildings around Hussain Sagar Lake amid the twin cities of Hyderabad and Secunderabad and ii) The intent to move the secretariat to different locations and finally calling off the same and deciding to raze it to ground to build a new swanky structure on the same location.

Here are the top five hits and five misses in the two-year tenure of KCR in Telangana.

Hits:

1. The biggest achievement is the thrust given by the Government to the IT sector that has been an attribute Hyderabad has earned in the last two decades. Chief Minister’s son K Taraka Rama Rao, aka KTR, was instrumental in getting IT giants Apple and Google to set up biggest development centres outside the US in Hyderabad. Same with Uber and e-commerce behemoth Amazon. In the ongoing visit to the US, KTR has diversified his focus and signed deals with a pharma major and Dreamworks, an entertainment bellwether.

2. Though the AP Bifurcation Act, 2014 has provided for Hyderabad being the common capital for 10 years, the Chief Minister smoked the administration of the neighbouring State out of the city. While the TDP Government, which frequently jabbed the Governor to enforce Section 8 of the Act in the State Capital, KCR’s shrewd move exposed the TDP leadership and laid bare its bid of horse trading in the #CashforVote case where the sting operation by the Anti-Corruption Bureau of Telangana caught the TDP in the crosshairs. Eventually, the TDP Government has begun moving the administration and its party headquarters to Amaravathi, its new capital, lock, stock and barrel.

3. Winning all the byelectons in the State ever since the Government came into power on 2 June, 2014 with landslide margins and complete decimation of the TDP, the Congress and the BJP in the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation elections, and also in the elections to the municipal corporations of Warangal and Khammam made KCR emerge the tallest political personality in the State. Aside from this, he currently has no other political party that can challenge him and stop him in his tracks when it comes to any political move. The pro-Telugu Desam media was successfully checkmated by the Chief Minister, some by extending and some with invoking fear. He literally waged a war against the media houses that were hostile to him and tamed them to toe his line. Not a great democratic trait on his part, though.

4. KCR, who portrayed himself as a staunch votary of anti-Andhra sentiment until the elections and also for some days after assuming the office of the Chief Minister, endeared himself to the migrant population. His assurance that he wouldn’t mind “pluck out the pebble pierced into the heels of my Andhra brethren with my teeth” hit a six with the people. The result of the GHMC polls stands testimony to the popular support he amassed. This has a cascading effect: The Government can ensure the safety and security of people of all sections. This confidence paved the way for a flood of investments in Telangana.

5. The biggest achievement of the TRS administration is emancipating the State from the clutches of acute power shortage. The PLF (plant load factor) was enhanced and production was optimized, aside from purchasing electricity from different States and sources, though neighboruing power-rich AP and the Centre did not extend an olive branch to help Telangana. The scorching summers in two consecutive seasons passed off without much power cuts, though it was projected that Telangana was in for darker days post bifurcation.

Misses:

1. The Chief Minister and his ministers doled out a mouthwatering platitude that the Government would construct two lakh double bed-roomed houses at a cost of over Rs 6.50 lakh a unit. While the State proposed to build one lakh units in apartment complexes in the State capital, the remaining one lakh were proposed as independent houses across the State. In fact, KCR is very particular about it and keeps on laying emphasis on the project. However, no agency is coming forth to take up the onerous task of construction what with the huge costing involved. Even the pilot project taken up in KCR’s native Erravalli hasn’t taken off beyond the proof of concept stage. People have huge expectations on this and it can make or mar the government.

2. The TRS Government promised 12 percent reservations to Muslims and a higher percentage to Scheduled Tribes in education and employment. However, the Government could not take it forward beyond a point. The laborious process involved in the constitution of judicial commissions and study of the economic situations becomes imperative to increase the quota for different sections of people. Going by the current situation, this promise seems well-nigh impossible to become a reality.

3. The Government has promised to distribute three acres of land to every eligible dalit. While the promised extent of land to be distributed is 1.50 lakh acres, the government has not progressed beyond 8,000 acres so far. This naturally angered the Dalits. Similarly, regularisation of service of employees hired on contract basis and opening up of opportunities for large scale jobs too did not bear fruit, as vowed by the Government. This still is testing the levels of frustration of aspirant beneficiaries.

4. The Government envisaged a free education program to eligible pupils from kindergarten to post-graduation (KG to PG). However, it could not take the project even to the drawing board level, leaving the people high and dry. The Government doesn’t even have a clue on how to go about this project. The Chief Minister’s interference in the alignment of Hyderabad Metro Rail project and his subsequent retraction caused an inordinate delay in the execution of the ambitious project for which denizens of the State capital. While the project is still dragging its feet, the Government has come up with another ambitious scheme on Strategic Road Development Project which entailed multi-layer flyovers and skywalks, etc. This drew criticism from the people, life becomes excruciating in the city for the next few years.

5. The TRS Government could not draw up a proper contingency plan to combat the drought situation and shortage of drinking water. This was actually acknowledged by the Chief Minister himself at the party plenary held at Khammam on 27 April. Besides, the government has not taken adequate measures to bolster the sagging morale in farmers and prevent suicides. The court had to intervene in the matter and taunt the administration. Even that has not yielded the desired result.