Union Tourism and Culture Minister G Kishan Reddy slams KCR's family lies

By Our Special Correspondent

Union Tourism and Culture Minister G Kishan Reddy on Wednesday said that the family members of Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao are telling blatant lies about the release of central funds to Telangana under the Smart Cities scheme.

He claimed that out of the Rs.1, 000 crore earmarked for smart cities by the state, the Center has actually launched Rs.392 crore. The state government has not initiated 50 per cent matching funds to implement smart cities plan in Warangal as well as Karimnagar.

Kishan Reddy stated that the state government has initiated only Rs 210 crores out of its coordinating shares of Rs 392 crores. Moreover, while the Center originally started the funds given for the financial year 2015-16, the state government started its share after 6 years in the financial year 2021-2022, following the pressure set by the Centre.

Kishan said that even the money released by the Government of India for the Smart Cities Mission was transferred by the Telangana government to Karimnagar and Warangal smart cities only after a long delay.

The Minister said that early initiation of payment of state share by the State Government would definitely ensure that Warangal as well as Karimnagar would have good drainage and sewage facilities.

Apart from the Smart Cities Mission, the Center under the Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (Amrit) 2.0 has actually spent Rs. 2,780 crore has been allocated, but Rs. 66 jobs worth 1,660 crore belong to authorized preparers for ARMUT initial stage. Covers 12 cities of Telangana.

Taking a swipe at the TRS government, he said important ministries like money, health, clinical as well as family welfare, water, land as well as income, business tax liability, mining, local administration as well as city development, markets, InfoTech, as well as interactions with electronic devices, are a family member's responsibility. Participants care. Never in the past have so many ministerial and administrative powers been held by a single family despite poor performance.

On the Smart Cities scheme, Kishan noted that the state finance ministry, local administration and urban development ministry seem to be giving conflicting details.

It seems that the family members of CM KCR Kalvakuntla are deliberately spreading false information and exist through social networks. The TRS has denied that the Center has not released a single rupee for smart cities in Telangana in the last three years.

But the facts make it clear that Kishan has been included, saying, "This blame should be entirely on the Telangana State Government, which has not allocated its share as part of the matching grant for smart cities projects in the state."