Congress takes objection to 'Kakatiya' Mission
HYDERABAD: The 'divide' between north and south Telangana came to the fore once again. This time on the floor of the Assembly.
The naming of the proposed lake restoration programme initiated by the State government as 'Kakatiya Mission' drew criticism from Congress members from Mahbubnagar district, who said they have their own kings and rulers and the lake restoration programme in south Telangana should be named after them.
The issue came up during the question hour on the issue of government initiative to restore the chain tank system in all districts barring Hyderabad in a phased manner in next five years under 'Mission Kakatiya'.
Congress MLA from Wanaparthy G Chinna Reddy took objection and asked the government to change the name of the programme. 'We have our own kings and rulers. Most of the lakes and tanks in Mahbubnagar and other districts of south Telangana were dug and developed by different rulers and not by the Kakatiya rulers,' he said and added that Kakatiyas developed north Telangana only.
Chinna Reddy said Bathukamma festival is not celebrated in south Telangana. 'We celebrate Bonalu and not Bathukamma. The government declared Bathukamma a State festival but we did not protest then'.
Replying to Chinna Reddy's posers, irrigation minister T Harish Rao said the christening of the programme was done with a holistic approach as the 'arch symbol' of Kakatiya rulers was represented in Telangana logo.
Harish said as many as 46,531 tanks have been identified for restoration which is expected to cost ` 20,000 crore over the next five years. The government has decided to restore as many as 9,306 tanks in the first phase.
Transparency would be followed in the allotment of works and tenders floated through e-procurement, Harish said and added that improvement of lakes which were neglected in united Andhra Pradesh would be taken up on a massive scale.
Restoration of tanks include repairs to bunds, weir and sluices, resectioning of irrigation channels, restoration of feeder channels to the tanks, silt removal and restoration of full tank level, he added.
Earlier, members welcomed the scheme and wanted the government to implement it effectively. BJP floor leader K Laxman said the lake improvement scheme was laudable, while Errabelli Dayakar Rao (TDP) said the party would cooperate with the government.
News Posted: 20 November, 2014
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