Telangana govt endorses farm loan waiver plan

Hyderabad, The Telangana government on Wednesday night endorsed the farm loan waiver plan, a key poll promise of TRS, which would cost about Rs 19,000 crores.

The farm loan waiver would benefit over 39 lakh families in the state, Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao told reporters after a marathon cabinet meeting that concluded late tonight.

The Cabinet took decisions on about 40 items, some of which include providing Rs 10 lakh and other benefits to every family of martyrs who laid down their lives for the cause of separate Telangana state since 1969.

Observing that the students tuition fees reimbursement scheme that has been implemented in undivided Andhra Pradesh as a scam, he announced a new scheme named 'Financial Assistance to Students of Telangana (FAST).

The scheme applies to those who have been residents of Telangana since 1956. Asked about the proposal to give more powers to the Governor in the common capital area of Hyderabad, Rao reacted angrily, saying that such a move amounts to encroaching on the powers of Telangana government.

He said he would even convene a meeting of Chief Ministers to voice opposition to any such move. When pointed out that the Centre has also written a letter giving additional powers to the Governor in Hyderabad, Rao said, Centre does not have the power to do so.

We strongly oppose that and condemn that. We have already conveyed our protest through a letter. We don't accept it under any circumstances. it is encroaching upon the powers of states, which is not tolerable.

If the Centre behaves rudely like that, i will announce a war on Centre at an all India level, he said. We will express our protest by organising a meeting of Chief Ministers and ready to fight on that, he said.