Telangana, the 29th state of republic India is celebrating first formation day today. This celebrations will continue for a week-long affair to mark the culture, tradition and historical importance of Telangana in Indian history. A year after he got his new state, K Chandrasekhar Rao is on a roll. Reason: he has got Hyderabad.
“Earlier on, the revenues from Hyderabad the economic engine in the entire region used to fund expenditures of old Andhra Pradesh. Now the revenue is used only for Telangana, which is much smaller.
As a result the finances of Telangana are better than any other state in the country, barring Gujarat,“ says a top economist who does not want to be named because of his assignment with GOI.
Realizing that a mega city can change the destiny of a state especially a small one like Telangana KCR has been pushing son and minister K T Rama Rao to aggressively woo investments from abroad. Preliminary reports suggest that the efforts are successful. Analysts see this as a move to expand Hyderabad and create a highly urbanized Telangana.To provide comfort to investors, KCR, earlier known for his rabid anti-Andhra statements, has now given up his old habits.
With finances not a problem, KCR has used the last one year to consolidate his political position. Beginning with 63 MLAs in an assembly of 120, the strength of the ruling party has gone up to 76 with continual defections. This of course has his detractors screaming.“Never in the past have we seen a chief minister personally negotiating defections,“ says Telangana PCC president Uttam Kumar Reddy . But the fact of the matter is that KCR does everything personally . “It's a oneman government, nobody else matters“ say all who are in the know of things. This has its own advantages, say businessmen. “If you can reach him, you can get your job done easily. There are no multi-level clearances and bureaucratic roadblocks,“ a top businessman says. However, many see this concentration of powers as regression to the days of the feudal Nizams. KCR's vaastu obsession also draws sniggers.
Although KCR along with his nephew and minister Harish Rao has launched an ambitious and laudable Mission Kakatiya to rejuvenate tanks across Telangana, rural distress continues with farmers suicides. Perhaps one year is too short to wipe off rural distress. Students too are upset that KCR has not begun creating jobs for all of them. KCR is laughing all the way to the bank also because the Modi government has not created any obstacles for him.Chandrababu Naidu may be in alliance with BJP , but the politician in Modi has ensured that Naidu gets no favour vis-à-vis KCR. Thus KCR can control the joint capital Hyderabad with no interference from Naidu or the governor.
Though KCR got off to remarkable start, his campers say that everything is not hunky dory . On their investment missions they are realizing that Modi men are trying to chaperone multinationals to Gujarat and other BJP-ruled states. Moreover, it is only a matter of time before the BJP leaders begin ramping up their party in Telangana.
Climate change may also become a major problem in semi-arid Telangana, which faces uncertain monsoons.Hyderabad never saw temperatures of more than 40 degrees till a decade ago. This summer it touched 45 degrees and forecasted to rise to 50 degrees in another decade.
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