Multiple tasks before new Congress rulers in Telangana ahead of Lok Sabha elections

By Sudhansu R Das
The newly elected Congress government in Telangana has tough tasks ahead in the economic, social and environmental fronts. The Lok Sabha election is fast approaching. The Congress’ prospect in winning the Lok Sabha seats in Telangana depends on Congress’ initiative to repair the economy without passing the debt burden to people.
The state is facing a huge debt burden of Rs 6,71,757 crore as per the white paper released by the new Congress government; the burden has increased from Rs 72,658 crore in 2014-15 to above Rs 6.71 lakh crore. The construction of mega irrigation projects, huge dams and other infrastructure projects contributed to a large portion of the debt.
On the social front, the state is facing an alarming increase in unemployment level in villages, massive migration of villagers to cities, increase in liquor and drug addiction among the youth. The number of domestic violence and suicide in the state has increased due to lack of quality education, environmental impact on people's mind and due to the decay in cultural and spiritual environment.
There is a serious problem on the environmental front as various survey reports and satellite images show hundreds of lakes in the state have been encroached; many lakes have disappeared or been replaced with concrete jungles. The lakes, rock gardens and native tree lairs are the lifeline of Hyderabad; many of life supports have disappeared amid loud protests from environmentalists, volunteers, media and youth organizations.
Hyderabad is like a hen which lays golden eggs. If anybody infested with greed wants to kill the hen for all the golden eggs he is bound to invite calamity, poverty and unemployment. Greed can bring total ruin to the city. A politician after 50 years should learn to resist greed and work for the good of people which will give him immense satisfaction which he can’t buy with money and propaganda politics.
Political leaders should strive hard to win the good will of people because good will is a precious asset which ultimately helps him win an election. If he does not win the election, he leaves behind a legacy which is worth emulating for the young breed of politicians.
The native tree population, open space, forest, natural rock formation, rivers and groundwater in the city should be scientifically documented for preservation and repair. The instinct to build unnecessary concrete structures, offices, buildings and infrastructures in the city should be curbed.

State is facing huge debt burden of Rs 6,71,757 as per Congress white paper. It was Rs 72,658 crore in 2014-15

Those things are not required in an internet age where people can work from homes at a faster pace. A green, clean, naturally beautiful and culturally vibrant Hyderabad is like a hen which will lay golden eggs.

Massive employment should be created in villages so that people won’t migrate to Hyderabad which has reached optimum capacity in real estate development; any effort to push the real estate sector further will erode the food reserve around Hyderabad; the villages around the city once served as the food bowl for the entire state. The city should not expand in all directions devouring fertile agricultural fields; villages should have basic infrastructures so that people could earn from village homes.
The new Congress government should document each and every lake in the city as well as in the state. Real estate growth should not eat up the water bodies. Keeping in view of the alarming low level of ground water level, the government should not allow the construction of high rise apartments in the city.
There should be forests, open areas and public parks in the city. One KVR park should be developed in every five kilometer gap. It will keep the city healthy and increase the longevity of this beautiful urban center. Hyderabad is the financial and cultural nerve centre of the state; the city should revive its status as the Queen of Deccan not on advertisement pages but in reality.
The government should provide simple pothole free roads to people as the residents of Hyderabad have suffered for a long time due to bad roads. The road construction should be checked thoroughly so that a small defect on roads would not turn into major accident points. The economy of the state can be revived if the new congress government strikes a balance between the growth, environment and the natural sector.

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