Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao on Friday said his stand before formation of Telangana State that the region was rich but it was exploited in combined State was vindicated by the 15 per cent growth in State’s revenue till last month-end.
“One full year of State formation went by from April 1 last year to March 31 and our growth is 15 per cent as nowhere in the world,” Mr. Rao said at the Ugadi celebration of Telangana government here on Friday.
He went on to add that the real strength of Telangana on economic front had never come out so clearly in the past because either it was part of Andhra Pradesh or erstwhile Hyderabad State, including parts of the present Maharashtra and Karnataka.
'It will be numero uno in IT'
Mr. Rao painted a bright future for Telangana in the coming days as it was poised to become the number one State in information technology.
There was no power blackout even for a second, he said. In the next four to five years, the State will be rid of drought on a permanent basis due to the coming up of irrigation projects in a big way, he said.
Telangana will conclude the final agreement with Maharashtra government on construction of barrages across Godavari, Pranahita and Penganga in a week to ten days, Mr. Rao said.
He also said development of water resources was the only goal of Telangana government left to be achieved after gaining financial autonomy and ensuring cent per cent employment for native population.
The movement for separate Telangana was carried out demanding funds, water and jobs for people of the region, he said.
On attempts to develop water sources, Mr. Rao said the effort of the government was to lay a strong foundation for construction of projects. It has already taken a year long during which all the problems were analysed and the government had a fair understanding of the task ahead.
The government had firmed up plans to supply water even in the worst drought year.
As a result, it will overcome suicide by farmers. He recalled that 1,500 tmc ft water went into sea last year due to poor planning.
Union Labour Minister Bandaru Dattatreya complimented Mr. Rao for exploring permanent solution to overcome drought.
Several Ministers, Chief Secretary Rajiv Sharma, MLAs and MLCs of the TRS were present on the dais whose backdrop was decorated with a statue of Telangana Thalli holding Batukamma.
