A review report on the year-long functioning of the Telangana government has raised doubts about the Land Purchase Scheme (LPS) for landless Dalits, and sought to know if land assignment is being obfuscated as land purchase.
The assignment conditions mentioned on the patta allow scope for the government to resume the land for any public purpose in future without payment of compensation, the report by the ‘Wada Na Todo Abhiyan’ revealed.
The report will be released officially on Tuesday.
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Citing an order issued by the Revenue Department of the united AP dated December, 16, 2013, which sought to delete the earlier assignment condition for resumption of land by the government in case of assigned lands, the report questioned why Telangana government has chosen to ignore the order.
The order stipulated that compensation to assignees who relinquish their D-Form patta land for public purpose should be paid ex-gratia on par with private patta lands.
“Despite the new GO coming into force, the earlier condition continues to be printed on the pattas being given to women beneficiaries under the LPS,” the report noted.
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The land purchase programmes that were being implemented in the past through IKP, SERP and SC Corporation involved allocation of land with complete ownership rights, the report pointed, and demanded that the government come up with clear guidelines to redress this anomaly.
Reviewing the one-year rule of the Telangana government, the nationwide initiative by civil society and NGOs, has noted that most of the electoral promises by TRS have been converted into government flagship programmes. However, the overall trend in their implementation seems to be more of populist nature rather than meant to address the basic problems, it said.
Particularly hit is the agriculture sector, with both the loan waiver scheme and issue of loan eligibility cards to tenant formers coming a cropper. Farmers’ suicides continue unabated, and the government’s response towards crop damage was lukewarm.
Non-starter
The promise to develop Telangana as ‘Seed Bowl’ remained a non-starter, with no fund allocations.
A review of the SCSP and TSP revealed that only 37.56 per cent of the budget allocated for the sub-plan was spent during the year 2014-15.
No reviews were conducted on the functioning of the Scheduled Castes Development Department during the year.
The report also pointed that the promise of KG-PG free education and 12 per cent reservations to Muslims are yet to be implemented.
The government’s performance was assessed in the areas of Governance, Agriculture, LPS, NREGS, Health and Medical, Pre-primary and primary education, Aadivasi issues, implementation of SC and ST sub-plan, and issues related to Muslim women.