Telangana CM Revanth Reddy hands over zero-fare ticket to women

Hyderabad, Dec 09 (ANI): Telangana CM Revanth Reddy presents Rs 2 crore financial assistance to boxer Nikhat Zareen, in Hyderabad on Saturday. (ANI Photo)


Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy on Saturday launched two key welfare schemes – the free bus service for women and transgenders and the health insurance of Rs 10 lakh for the poor – thereby fulfilling a part of the poll guarantees promised by the Congress ahead of the Assembly elections. However, BRS MLA T Harish Rao demanded that the government should immediately release Rs 15,000 per acre to farmers as a financial incentive.

The launch of the two schemes coincided with the birthday of Congress Parliamentary Party chairperson Sonia Gandhi, which is also the day when the UPA government announced the formation of a separate Telangana. The two schemes were introduced on Saturday by the Chief Minister at the Legislative Assembly premises in the presence of Deputy Chief Minister Bhatti Vikramarka Mallu and other ministers along with AIMIM MLA and pro-tem speaker Akbaruddin Owaisi.

The free bus travel scheme for women, named Mahalakshmi, was modelled on the same scheme introduced by the Congress government in the neighboring Karnataka. Under this, women domiciled in Telangana are allowed to travel in the state-run buses without paying any fare.

Under the Rajiv Arogyasri health scheme, the poor would get health coverage up to Rs 10 lakh per annum per family. Under the previous government, the coverage was limited to Rs 5 lakh per annum per family. The Chief Minister also handed over a cheque for Rs 2 crore to ace boxer Nikhat Zareen as an incentive.

Meanwhile, former finance minister T Harish Rao on Saturday pointed out that the Congress during the election campaign had promised to release the second instalment of financial assistance for the Rabi crop under the Rythu Bandhu scheme on 9 December but so far there has not been any communication in this regard from the new government. Since the farmers suffered heavy losses due to sudden rain caused by Cyclone Mitchaung, the BRS leader urged the government to buy all the wet paddy.