Welfare Schemes and Programmes in Telangana State – A Critical Analysis

-*Dr. S. Vijay Kumar ABSTRACT Telangana Government is implementing several Welfare Schemes such as Rythu Bandhu, Kalyana Lakshmi and Shaadi Mubarak to provide financial assistance to farmers, women, and families. Additionally, Schemes like Mission Bhagiratha and Haritha Haram aim to provide access to clean drinking water and promote afforestation respectively. These Schemes had a significant impact on the lives of marginalized communities and helping to reduce poverty, improve access to education and healthcare, and enhancing the livelihoods of the rural population. There are several challenges that need to be addressed by the Telangana Government for the better implementation of the said Welfare Schemes and Programmes. Key words: Welfare Schemes and Programmes, Review of Literature, Critical Analysis, Policy Recommendations. State protects and promotes the economic and social wellbeing of its citizens, based upon the principles of equal opportunities and equitable distribution of wealth. Early features of the welfare state, such as public pensions and social insurance, developed from the 1880s onwards in industrializing Western countries. World War I, the Great Depression, and World War II have been characterized as important events that ushered in expansions of the welfare state. The fullest forms of the welfare state were developed after World War II. Social welfare encompasses help provided to persons in need. Activities and resources have to be enhanced to promote the well-being of individuals and families. Larger the society, broad efforts should be made to eliminate or reduce the incidence of social problems. Since, the inception of the independence of India our policymakers have professed to promote equitable economic development in the country. This has involved in balancing economic growth with reduction in the acceleration of inequality and augmented social protection of the poor. The nomenclature for this growth strategy has been changed and, in its current version, it is called “inclusive growth”. Such a strategy has been enshrined in a number of official documents including the 12th Five Year Plan. Both high economic growth and effectively functioning welfare schemes are central to the agenda of inclusive economic growth. Indeed, there is a symbiotic relationship between the two. High economic growth both pulls up people from below the poverty line and generates additional resources for financing welfare schemes and thus provides social protection. Welfare schemes protect the poor and disadvantaged and equip the labor force to better participate in the process of accelerating economic growth. In this Paper, I have tried my level best to critically evaluate and present a broad overview of the Welfare Schemes and Progrmmes in Telangana State. Review of Literature: Broadly speaking welfare means, efforts to provide a basic level of well-being through subsidized social services such as healthcare, education, infrastructure, vocational training, and public housing. In a Welfare State, the State assumes the responsibility for providing health, education, and infrastructure to the public. In the Roman Empire, the first emperor Augustus provided the Cura Annonae or grain dole for citizens who could not afford to buy food every month. Social welfare was enlarged by the Emperor Trajan. Trajan's program brought acclaim from many, including Pliny the Younger. Other provisions for the poor were introduced during the history of Ancient Rome. In the medieval period and until the Industrial Revolution, the function of welfare payments in Europe was achieved through private giving or charity, through numerous confraternities and activities of different religious orders. Early welfare programs in Europe included the English Poor Law of 1601, which gave parishes the responsibility for providing welfare payments to the poor. This system was substantially modified by the 19th-century Poor Law Amendment Act, which introduced the system of workhouses. It was predominantly in the late 19th and early 20th centuries that an organized system of state welfare provision was introduced in many countries. Otto von Bismarck, Chancellor of Germany, introduced one of the first welfare systems for the working classes. In Great Britain the Liberal government of Henry Campbell-Bannerman and David Lloyd George introduced the National Insurance system in 1911, a system later expanded by Clement Attlee. Modern welfare states include Germany, France, the Netherlands, as well as the Nordic countries, such as Iceland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, and Finland which employ a system known as the Nordic model. Esping-Andersen classified the most developed welfare state systems into three categories; Social Democratic, Conservative, and Liberal. A report published by the ILO in 2014 estimated only 27% of the world population has access to comprehensive social security. The World Bank's 2019 World Development Report argues that the traditional payroll-based model of many kinds of social insurance are "increasingly challenged by working arrangements outside standard employment contracts". While Amartya Sen has stressed State-led social welfare schemes to tackle India’s developmental issues, others like Bhagwati argues that focusing on economic growth is important so that enough resources are available for social welfare programs. In his view, inequality may rise with economic growth initially, but sustained growth will eventually also sustain the social benefit programs to redistribute and mitigate the effects of the initial inequality. Sen believes that India should invest more in its social infrastructures like health and education to improve human capabilities that will push economic development. In his opinion, without such efforts, inequality widens which ultimately hampers the process of economic development. China as a poor country with more population has expanded the basic needs, education, health care and infrastructure and now emerged as a global leader. The Directive Principles of India, enshrined in part IV of the Indian Constitution, reflect that India is a welfare state. The National Food Security Act, 2013 aims to guarantee right to food to all citizens. The welfare system was fragmented until the passing of The Code on Social Security, 2020, which standardized most of the programmes. The Government of India's social programmes and welfare expenditures are a substantial portion of the official budget, and state and local governments play roles in developing and implementing social security policies. The government uses the Aadhaar system to distribute welfare measures in India. Some of the social programmes undertaken by the government are: Direct cash transfers, Financial inclusion of all individuals, Statutory insurances, Free school meals, Rural employment guarantee, Various subsidies & benefits, Pensions & provident funds. As of 2023, the government's expenditure on social programme and welfare is approximately Rs 21.3 lakh crore (US$270 billion), which is 8.3% of gross domestic product (GDP). Over the past decade, the Telangana government has allocated nearly Rs. 5 lakh crores for various welfare schemes, including Aasra pensions and others. These initiatives have provided financial security and enhanced the self-esteem of the underprivileged sections of society. Notably, farmers have received crop investment assistance, effectively addressing their economic difficulties. After numerous agitations and sacrifices, the Telangana State was achieved in a democratic manner on June 2, 2014 as 29th State of India. At the time of Telangana formation, according to Jayaprakash Narayan Ex-IAS Officer (Ex- Lok Satta MLA), famously known as JP, Hyderabad alone had a government surplus of Rs. 13,000 crore per year. When Telangana State was formed in 2014, the then State Finance Minister Eatela Rajender presented the state’s maiden budget with a proposed expenditure of Rs 1,00,637 crore with a surplus of Rs. 301 crore. As on 2nd June, 2014, when Telangana State was formed, it had an outstanding public debt of Rs. 75,577 Crore. In the first year of its formation, the state had resorted to the public borrowing of Rs.8,121 crore from several sources. Every year, the state continued to borrow loans, resulting in mounting public debt. Telangana’s outstanding public debts are set to touch Rs 3.57 lakh crore in 2023-24, a jump of about 11 per cent over the previous year while the overall debt burden, including loans taken by state public sector enterprises, has reached Rs 4.33 lakh crore. Thus, Telangana State failed badly to manage debts under FRBM Act. On the eve of independence day (15/08/2023), Telangana government for its political mileage waived crop loans of 90,283 farmers having debts up to Rs 99,999 to gain votes in the coming State Elections. Thus, the government itself encouraging the farmers to become debt defaulters. The farmers who sincerely repaid their loans regularly to the banks are losing and the farmers who intensely not repaid got benefitted. Actually, the Government’s basic duty is to provide all with the basic needs like education up to Intermediate (12th Class), medical and health, safe drinking water, good roads and homes to the economically weaker sections and employment opportunities. Forgetting this, today Governments are implementing some unnecessary welfare schemes for the sake of votes. Due to this, Telangana Government is not in a position to pay salaries and pensions on 1st every month. They are paid mostly either in the second or third week of every month. Now, Telangana Government is scrambling for funds to implement Welfare Schemes. In my opinion, any Welfare Scheme must support the livelihood and elevate his/her economic status but should not make him/her as slave. In fact, the present Governments are making their citizens as slaves and using them as their vote bank at the cost of State (Public) Exchequer. Thus, wasting tax payers money. In this context, I would like to remind our Central and State Governments to learn and must follow from this Chinese proverb – “Don’t give fishes freely to the public but should train them how to fish”. That is to say, not to give anything freely but make them self-sufficient and earn their livelihood themselves without depending on the government. Critical Analysis of Various Welfare Schemes and Programmes of Telangana State: Rythu Bandhu Scheme: • This is a first direct farmer investment support scheme in India paid directly. The scheme was announced on 25 February 2018 and was introduced from 2018-19 Kharif (Rainy) Season. • Each farmer gets Rs. 5,000 per acre per crop season without any ceiling on the number of acres held. • The grant helps them cover expenses on input requirements such as seeds, fertilizers, pesticides and labour. • Maximum Rythu Bandhu beneficiaries are between 1 and 5 acres. • Rs. 1,295 Crore goes to Small land with 2-3 acres. • Rs. 1,144 Crore spent on those with 3-4 acres. • The total farming land is 1.43 crore acres and the number of farmers in the state stood at 58.33 lakh. Around 55% of population in Telangana make a living from agriculture. • In 2018, there were nearly 50.25 lakh beneficiaries. In the latest round of disbursal, nearly 70.54 lakh farmers received investment support. The government has set aside nearly Rs.15,075 crore in the 2023 Budget for the Rythu Bandhu implementation. • There are roughly 13,000 farmers who have land between 20 and 40 acres collectively owning more than 3.19 lakh acres. • Its biggest lacuna is that it excludes tenant farmers that take land on lease for cultivation, comprising over a third of Telangana’s farming population. The agriculture land holdings are: Land Extent No. of farmers Total Acres Est. Cost % under 1 acre 18 lakhs 18 lakhs 14.4 billion As of 16 February 2020, 30.8% under 1-2 acres 24 lakhs 48 lakhs 38.4 billion 41.9% under 3-5 acres 11 lakhs 44 lakhs (avg) 35.2 billion 18.8% 5-10 acres 4.4 lakhs 33 lakhs (avg) 26.4 billion 7.5% > 10 acres 94,000 9.4 lakhs 7.52 billion 1.6% > 25 acres 6488 1.62 lakhs 1.3 billion 0.1% > 50 acres 298 14900 119 million 0.005% Critical Analysis: From the above table, it is clearly evident that small and marginal farmers (Up to 5 acres) are more in number and possessing less land. Contrast to this, big farmers (above 5 acres) are less in number and possessing more land. As there is no upper limit on the land to claim Rythu Bandhu, more money is grabbed by big farmers. According to one estimate in Telangana State 90,449 big farmers alone are possessing 14,73,955 acres of land. In 2022 these big farmers claimed Rs.1473 crore, 95 lakhs and 50,000 as Rythu Bandhu @ Rs. 10,000 per acre. Rich farmers were requested not to use this Scheme, but nobody cared for this request. If, the rich farmers forgo Rythu Bandhu, the money goes to the corpus of Rythu Samanvaya Samithi. The scheme pays all land owners regardless of their personal income and wealth. Much of the opposition to the scheme is directed towards payments to rich land owners. Many wealthy individuals such as government officials, doctors and businessmen etc. are known to own large tracts of farmlands. According to the government's estimates about 319 crores is paid annually to farmers who own more than 20 acers. In addition, as this scheme pays only to the land owners and not the tillers, money goes to the Pattadar, even if they are not farming. Oftentimes rich land owners lease their lands to poor farmers for cultivation. In recent times the practice of land leasing is increasing substantially due to scarcity of farm labor. Rich land owners unwilling to do the hard work are leasing their lands to hardworking poor tillers. However, the tillers don't get any benefit from the scheme, defeating its purpose. Besides, the scheme is known to pay for lands that are not in cultivation such as lands converted for real estate or other commercial purposes. Recently, in June 2023 Telangana Government announced that 5 lakh ryots including 1.5 lakh podu farmers to get Rs. 5,000 per acre support for the first time this season. About 70 lakh farmers with a landholding of over 1.54 crore acres are expected to get an amount of Rs 7,720.29 crore in the direct benefit transfer method. As per the latest report, over 57 lakh farmers benefiting from Rythu Bandhu. Nalgonda district is the largest beneficiary of the scheme with about 4.32 lakh farmers cultivating about 10.74 lakh acres. In Brahmanapalle village in Nalgonda district (Bibi Nagar Mandal) for instance, there are farmers who have received less than Rs.3,000 a crop season and there are others who have received nearly Rs.2.5 lakh under the same scheme. “Nobody is questioning the motive behind giving money to the marginal and small farmers, but “It is only questionable when public money is given to the big farmers. There is lot of public demand to put a cap on the acreage so that the largest portion of public spending goes to small and marginal farmers.” Despite years of opposition, the BRS-led Telangana government has not agreed to this. Banks use Rythu Bandhu cash to clear farm loans: Banks are apprehensive about their dues, as there is no clarity on the loan waver in case another political party takes the state’s reins. Therefore, with Assembly elections ahead, banks are ramping up measures to recover loan arrears. As per state government data, the state had 70 lakh farmers of whom 47,86,161 are marginal farmers (less than 2.47 acres each), 11,50,339 are small farmers (2.48-4.94 acres), 4,73,387 are semi-medium farmers (4.95-9.88 acres), 84,558 are medium farmers (9.89-24.75 acres) and 5,861 are large farmers holding over 24.76 acres each. 40.66 lakh farmers had borrowed farm loans of at least Rs 1 lakh, amounting to Rs 25,936 crore for the promised waiver. It was later found that 3.98 lakh farmers had availed of multiple loans on family member’s names and these names were duly deleted. The final report stated that 36.68 lakh farmers took loans worth Rs 19,198 crore were eligible for crop loan waivers. However, the state government has waived loans of only 5.66 lakh farmers, amounting to Rs 1,207 crore. Over 31 lakh farmers (who availed of loans of Rs 37,000- Rs 1 lakh) are still awaiting relief. Rythu Bheema: The main objective of the Farmers Group Life Insurance Scheme (Rythu Bheema), is to provide financial relief and social security to the family members/ dependents, in case of loss of farmer’s life due to any reason. In the event of the loss of the farmer life, their families are facing severe financial problems even for their day-to-day needs. Farmers in the age group of 18 to 59 years are eligible for enroll under the scheme. In the event of the death of the enrolled farmer due to any cause including natural death, the insured amount of Rs. 5.00 Lakhs is deposited into the designated nominee account within (10) days. Nearly, 30.72 lakh of 57.81 lakh farmers in the State enrolled under Rythu Bima scheme for the 2019-20 financial year. The State government paid premium amounting to Rs 1,775.95 crore for 2018-19 and 2019-20 to LIC for implementing the scheme. So far, about 36,897 claims have been settled benefiting the bereaved families who have received total Rs 1,844 crore. About 52.3 per cent of farmers whose claims were settled were aged between 49-59 years, while 32.6 per cent belong to the age group of 39 and 48 years. Critical Analysis: Though, this is a good Scheme, but the farmers will get benefit only after their death. Hence, in my opinion farmers must also get “Crop Insurance Scheme” benefit in the event of all crop losses due to natural calamities. Dalit Bandu: The objective of this Scheme is to provide one time capital assistance @ Rs.10.00 lakhs per Schedule Caast family for all eligible SC families as 100% grant / subsidy to start their own businesses or entrepreneurial ventures, thereby creating opportunities for them to become self-reliant and improve their standard of living. This Scheme is introduced as a part of multi-pronged approach with a different new initiative and strategy in addition to the existing Schemes like food security, education and social security. This scheme is introduced to the reduce poverty and promote entrepreneurship among the SC community, which has historically been marginalized and faced discrimination in society. The scheme is also expected to promote inclusive growth and social development in the State. The Telangana government has allocated Rs. 1,200 crore for the implementation of this Scheme. The total number of beneficiaries of scheme are 20,929 Dalit families. Eligibility criteria of the Scheme: • The scheme is applicable only to families belonging to the SC community. • The applicant must be a resident of Telangana. • The family should have an annual income of less than Rs. 2.5 lakh. • The family should not own more than 3 acres of agricultural land or more than one residential house. • The applicant should not have availed himself of any other government loan or subsidy. • The applicant should have a viable business plan or entrepreneurial idea that can be supported by the grant. • The applicant should be willing to contribute 10% of the project cost. • The applicant should have a bank account. • The applicant should have a digital identity, such as an Aadhaar card. • The applicant should be between the ages of 25 and 50. • The applicant should have passed at least the 10th standard. • The applicant should not have a criminal record or have been convicted of a crime. Critical Analysis: This Scheme aims to cover 70 lakh SC families in the State with an estimated budget of Rs. 1.7 Lakh Crore. Unsurprisingly, the scheme is causing friction between Dalit groups and upper caste groups owing to the changing social dynamics. It is advised that this Scheme should also be extended to all other economically backward communities. It’s worth noting that there is no online application process for the Dalit Bandhu scheme, and the application acceptance is limited to offline submissions. Corruption in Dalit Bandhu selection process deprives those who genuinely qualify. Critics allege that some leaders are demanding hefty sums, ranging from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 3 lakh, from the beneficiaries for securing their selection. Some are saying that “Under the name of Dalita Bandhu, BRS party is cheating the Dalits. BRS MLAs are openly saying in meetings that they will give Dalit Bandhu Scheme’s Rs. 10 lakhs only to those who vote to their party”. Extension of Dalit Bandhu Scheme to State Government employees and Retired persons evokes criticism, people say that this is nothing but purely a political motive to gain votes even though this is not possible to implement practically. People question that the government employees’ service rules say - the employee should not take up any business activities while in service and more over their incomes are high to meet the eligibility criteria for this Scheme. Then how would the government give financial assistance of Rs 10 lakhs to the government employees for taking up other business activities? Whether the government employees should do business or government jobs. “If the government was really concerned about the upliftment of the Dalits, then it should provide employment to the unemployed youth or provide them training in self-employment skills before launching the scheme”. KCR Kit: The primary objective of this Scheme is to encourage pregnant women deliveries in government hospitals and improve Mother and Child Health (MCH) services. Through this Scheme, State Government is also aiming to bring down the Mother and Infant Mortality Rates. This Scheme is meant for pregnant women for maximum two deliveries. Women who give birth in a government hospital can utilize this scheme. The main aim of this Scheme is to provide all the necessary items for a pregnant women and the newborn baby. Under this scheme, a pregnant women will be provided with a financial assistance of Rs. 12,000 in three phases. In case of a baby girl, an additional Rs. 1,000/- will be given to encourage girl child births. KCR Kit contains a Baby oil, Soaps useful for mother and child, a Mosquito net, Napkins and a Baby bed etc. KCR Kit scheme benefits are being extended to Chenchu, Kolam and Konda Reddy Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs) without the upper limit of two children per family. Since the launch of the scheme in 2017, the State Government has spent over Rs.1,176 crore towards effective implementation and 13,29,951 people have benefited. Further, Rs.243 crore was spent towards distribution of 11,82,014 KCR Kits so far. Critical Analysis: There is a criticism that more than 5,000 auxiliary nurse midwives tracking pregnant women, childbirth and immunization schedules in Telangana have not been paid for their dues by the Telangana government for the last four years, who are really the back bone for the implementation of this Scheme. Telangana Health department officials have all reasons to be extremely worried in the wake of a US court ordering global pharma giant Johnson & Johnson to pay a huge compensation of $4.69 billion to 22 women and their families who had claimed that asbestos in company’s talcum powder caused them to develop ovarian cancer. Kalyana Lakshmi/Shaadi Mubarak: To prevent child marriages and alleviate financial distress among SC/ST and minority families, Government decided to sanction a one-time financial assistance of Rs. 1,00,116 at the time of marriage for brides who are residents of Telangana State. Accordingly, Kalyana Lakshmi and Shaadhi Mubarak Schemes have been introduced with effect from October 2, 2014 for unmarried girls, who have completed 18 years of age at the time of marriage and whose parental income does not exceed Rs. 2 lakh per annum. Critical Analysis: Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), Hyderabad in a recent Study on Kalyan Lakshmi and Shaadhi Mubarak has revealed that due to lack of literacy, poor access to government machinery, excessive dependence on middle-men, caste equations, digital backwardness, inefficient promotion of these schemes and basic biases against the SC/ST communities are some of the many factors failed to create substantial impact on these communities. There is a wide spread criticism among some sections of the society that these Schemes like Kalyan Lakshmi and Shaadhi Mubarak makes people lazy and not realizing their responsibilities as parents. Instead of such Schemes for votes sake, they say that Government must educate the people, so that they can become responsible citizens of the country. Aasara Pensions : This Scheme was started on 8/11/2014. As a part of its welfare measures and social safety net strategy, the Telangana government has introduced the “ Aasara ” pensions, with a view to ensure secured life with dignity for all the poor. ‘Aasara’ pension scheme is meant to protect the most vulnerable sections of society in particular the old and infirm, people with HIV-AIDS, widows, incapacitated weavers and toddy tappers, who have lost their means of livelihood with growing age, in order to support their day to day minimum needs required to lead a life of dignity and social security. The Telangana Government enhanced the monthly pension from Rs. 200 to Rs. 1000 for the old aged, widows, weavers, toddy tappers and AIDS patients and Rs. 500 to Rs. 1500 for disabled persons. Aasara pensions were increased from Rs.1,000 in November 2014 to Rs. 2,016 in April 2019 to senior citizens, widows, beedi workers, filaria victims, single women, handloom weavers, toddy tappers and AIDS victims, and Rs. 3,016 for disabled pensions. Further, the BRS Government reduced the age limit from 65 years in 2014 to 57 years in August 2022, accordingly the total number of pensioners under the scheme increased to 45.80 lakh. In tune with the reduction of age limit, the State Government has increased the monthly allocation of funds to Rs 975 crore. Towards implementation of this Scheme, the State Government is spending over Rs 12,000 crore annually. Critical Analysis: Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao announced the enhancement of Aasara pensions for the physically challenged from 3,016 per month to 4,016 per month. This raised hopes among other categories of Aasara beneficiaries, but there has been no word from the government on this issue. Telangana Government is facing financial crisis and not able to pay Aasara Pensions regularly as it requires over Rs 800 Crore per month. Double Bedroom Housing Scheme and Telangana Gruha Lakshmi: This Scheme was announced in May, 2014. Government of Telangana have formulated the double bed room housing scheme in the month of October 2015 with a view to provide dignity living to the poor by providing 100% subsidized housing. There is no beneficiary contribution under this scheme. In rural areas, beneficiaries solely depend on seasonal conditions for their earnings, the 2BHK housing helped in protecting them from debt traps as was the case in the past. Hitherto to the old yardstick was to provide a 260 Sq. ft house with a single room; The "Double Bedroom Housing" provides two bedrooms, hall, kitchen and two toilets covering 560 Sq. ft plinth area. The plot area is 125 Sq yards for an independent house in rural area and worked out to 36 Sq yards of undivided land share in G++ pattern houses in urban areas. Land is thus provided free of cost apart from the cost of the dwelling unit. The details of unit cost are shown below: (in Rs) Sl.No. Area Unit cost with Infra Unit cost without Infra House Infra Total 1 Rural 5,04,000 1,25,000 6,29,000 5,04,000 2 Urban 5,30,000 75,000 6,05,000 5,30,000 3 GHMC up to G+3 7,00,000 75,000 7,75,000 7,00,000 GHMC C+S+9 7,90,000 75,000 8,65,000 7,90,000 Target Groups: Rural: SC/ST: 50%, Minorities: 7% and balance 43% for others. Urban: SC: 17%, ST: 6%, Minorities: 12% and balance 65% for others. The pilot project for double bedroom houses was built at Erravalli on 5th March 2016. The scheme aims to make the city of Hyderabad a slum -free city. The house cannot be sold but can only be passed on as inheritance to the next generation of the family. The cost was estimated in the manifesto in 2014 to be Rs 3.5 lakhs per house but escalated to Rs 7.5 lakhs by 2017 due to design upgrades and increases in material costs. An additional Rs 1.25 lakhs per house goes for amenities, roads etc. The state government also launched a new scheme “Telangana Gruha Lakshmi” providing a one-time grant of Rs 3 lakh to the SC, ST and OBC beneficiaries who have a piece of land but cannot afford to construct houses. The Gruha Lakshmi Scheme was aimed at benefitting 3,000 families in each of the 119 assembly constituencies. For the execution of this project, the government would invest Rs 12,000 crore, which will result in the building of 4 lakh homes. Critical Analysis: People in several areas tried to occupy these houses by breaking the locks due to inordinate delay to allot to the beneficiaries. Though, these houses were ready to occupy were not distributed to take political mileage (to gain votes in the coming elections). Moreover, there is a wide spread criticism that lot of corruption took place in the construction quality and also in the allotment of houses to the beneficiaries. Mission Bhagiratha : Under the Telangana Drinking Water Supply Project, a mammoth 1.30 lakh km stretch of pipelines would be laid to quench the thirst of Telangana towns and villages apart from providing water for the industrial needs. For this project, surface water of perennial rivers and major reservoirs would be utilized as a raw water source. Taken up with an estimated cost of Rs 35,000 crore, Mission Bhagiratha is intended to ensure that no female member of a household would need to walk miles to carry a pot of water. Under this flagship programme, it is conceived to provide 100 liters per capita per day (LPCD) treated and piped water to every household in rural areas,135 LPCD in municipalities and 150 LPCD in municipal corporations. In this Scheme 98% of transmission & distribution systems function by gravity. Criticism: Congress opposition leader Mr. Bhatti Vikramarka said nearly Rs. 42,000 crores were spent in the name of Mission Bhagiratha claiming that the Scheme would provide drinking water to all households in the State. However, he said that the Scheme proved to be a major scam as a majority of houses are not getting water. Citing examples, he said in Dasnapur Andugoda people were forced to manually draw water from wells. However, he said tanks were constructed for the namesake only to raise the bills. There are several complaints that Mission Bhagiratha pipe lines are frequently broken and there is lot of wastage of water. Mission Kakatiya: A flagship programme of government aimed at restoring around 46,000 tanks in five years to provide irrigation source to about 25 lakh acres spending Rs 22,000 crore. As of February, 2017, restoration work has been started for nearly 20,000 tanks and works have been completed for about 5,000 tanks. Government of Telangana has sanctioned more than Rs. 4,600 crore for this initiative in 2015-16 and 2016-17 budgets. As part of the Mission, activities like debilitation, repairing damaged sluices and weirs, restoring dilapidated tank bunds, stone revetments and plugging seepages are carried out. Mission Kakatiya is aimed at improving the ground water table, reducing the power consumption by farm sector, getting higher yields, spurring the growth of livestock and rejuvenating rural economy on a whole. As per the ICRISAT Study, application of silt on farm fields resulted in savings ranging from Rs 2,500 to Rs 3,750 on fertilizers and pesticides. And the yield of cotton increased by 1,000 kgs per hectare. Critical Analysis: The state government’s flagship programme, Mission Kakatiya, has failed to achieve the targets in the first three phases, the Comptroller and Auditor General of India has reported. According to CAG observations, the target for phase-1 was unrealistic. There were delays in completion of phase-1 works ranging from 20 to 549 days. Consequently, progress in phase-2 and phase-3 of the Mission Kakatiya was low with 14 and zero per cent respectively. Removal of silt was one of the main components of Mission Kakatiya, but there was an average shortfall of 33 per cent in the removal of silt in 27 test-checked tanks. Prioritization of works was not in accordance with the guidelines. Haritha Haram : This program was launched on 3 July 2015. It is one of the Telangana Flagship programmes to rejuvenate degraded forests, protecting these forests from threats such as smuggling, encroachment, fire and grazing. It adopted intensive soil and moisture conservation measures based on a watershed approach. Through this programme, Telangana Government envisages to increase the present 24% tree cover in the State to 33% of the total geographical area of the State. The thrust areas to achieve the above are two- fold; one, initiatives in notified forest areas, and the other, initiatives in areas outside the notified forest areas. Critical Analysis: Agriculture experts and those closely working with the Haritha Haram Programme have voiced concerns over the quality of seedlings being used as they are premature and would not be able to withstand the climatic conditions and will perish in the heat and rains. It is criticized by many people that most of saplings are useless and may cause parthenium disease. Most of the saplings are not provided with tree guards. Hence they were eaten by goats and thus cores of rupees public money is being wasted. Land distribution to Dalits : Another significant welfare scheme of the government that provides 3 acres of agricultural land to landless SC women, along with the provision for creation of irrigation facilities, land development and other agricultural inputs for their sustained livelihood. Government distributed 2,524 acres of land to 959 Dalits spending Rs 94 crore in the first year. During the nine year period , Government acquired 17,097.09 acres and distributed to 6,998 eligible beneficiaries under 3 acres land to SCs schemes. Critical Analysis: Telangana Government took “U Turn” regarding the distribution of 3 acres of agricultural land to Dalits. The TRS never promised to give three acres to poor Dalit families in the state, chief minister K. Chandra Shekar Rao said on the floor of the assembly. The CM also said there was not much land available anymore to distribute. What the TRS had said in the past was that Dalits would be given the minimum required agricultural land to provide for their families, the CM said. For example, if a Dalit family had two acres, the government would give one more acre. Mana Ooru - Mana Badi : ‘This Programme aimed at all round development and creation of effective infrastructure in schools across the State by setting up digital classrooms, constructing additional classrooms and taking up repairs to schools to benefit 19.84 lakh children of 26,065 schools in the state of Telangana. The programme launched on 8th March 2022. Critical Analysis: As per the statistics available, there are around 26,065 government schools in Telangana run by local bodies that cater to 19,84,000 students. The MO-MB scheme is aimed at providing basic infrastructure in order to improve attendance and retention of students in government schools. A decision has also been taken to introduce digital education gradually. This flagship programme is ambitious but blind to the fundamental problems in the sector. The fact is that most of the schools do not have regular teachers. It is atrocious that these schools do not have cleaning staff. They also do not have watchmen and as a result schools have been used for anti-social activities. The allocation to education from the state budget has sharply fallen from 11 percent in 2014 to six percent in 2022. All of this indicates that making promises, appointing committees and then deceiving people had been the practice all these years. There are around 29,952 government-run schools in the state out of which 26,065 are under local bodies. According to a 2021 UNESCO report, 72% of rural schools are single-teacher schools. The sorry state of many such schools was revealed during the ‘Badi Nidra’ (night stay at schools) programme, an activity undertaken by a civil society organization called the Social Democratic Forum (SDF) to understand infrastructure woes of schools. The SDF visited a total of 40 schools as part of the programme. In some schools, they found it did not have water connectivity. It also lacked a compound wall. In some schools there are no toilets. In some schools though there are toilets but there at a distance, they could not be used due to non-availability of water. Some primary school offering classes from Grade I to Grade V, but only had one teacher and one class room. A primary school having five grades is expected to have at least five teachers and five classrooms. The survey conducted by Telangana Save Education Committee also showed many schools lacked basic infrastructure. As per the government plan, the scheme will be implemented in three phases in three years. The first phase began in the 2021-2022 academic year. Only schools which have a high number of students have been selected. A total of 9,123 schools have been selected in the first phase of this programme. It means that schools located in Dalit colonies, tribal settlements and remote villages cannot be selected as student strength in schools here is low. This could mean that around 18,766 single-teacher village schools will not be part of the MO-MB programme. Another shocking fact emerged during a field study conducted by SDF. It revealed that the work under MO-MB has started only in 1,000 schools instead of the promised 9,123 schools and the money released was not even 10 percent of the promised amount. All the above said Welfare Schemes and Programmes implemented by the Telangana Government are good, but there are certain loopholes as mentioned by me under the critical analysis of each Scheme. Hence, I suggest some “Policy Recommendations” to implement them with the letter spirit. Policy Recommendations: 1. In recent times the practice of land leasing is increasing substantially due to scarcity of farm labor. Rich land owners unwilling to do the hard work are leasing their lands to hardworking poor tillers. However, the tillers don't get any benefit from the scheme, defeating its purpose. Besides, the Rythu Bandhu Scheme is known to pay for lands that are not in cultivation such as lands converted for real estate or other commercial purposes. There are roughly 13,000 farmers who have land between 20 and 40 acres collectively owning more than 3.19 lakh acres. Its biggest lacuna is that it excludes tenant farmers that take land on lease for cultivation, comprising over a third of Telangana’s farming population. Chief Minister Rao remarking that the scheme “is not tenant Bandhu,” and that there is neither a legal rationale for offering support nor official government records that recognize tenant farmers. This is a double blow to (Tenant Farmers) a population that bears the highest burden of agricultural distress. According to a recent Tata Institute of Social Sciences Survey (TISS) of almost 700 Telangana families, 75 percent of farmer suicides in the past four years were by tenant cultivators. In view of the above said facts, the present Rythu Bandhu Scheme should be reoriented. First, identifying the tenant farmers and including them in Rythu Bandhu Scheme. One possibility involves using the possession of Loan Eligibility Cards (LECs) issued under the Land Licensed Cultivators Act of 2011 that entitled tenants to credit, insurance, and subsidies, as an eligibility criterion for receiving benefits, and combining this with Rythu Bandhu Scheme could benefit tenant farmers. Second, allowing only Small and Marginal Farmers for Rythu Bandhu Scheme by keeping a ceiling and thereby preventing the rich farmers from using this Scheme. 2. Rythu Bheema is a good scheme, but the farmers will get benefit only after their death. Hence, I recommend farmers must also get “Crop Insurance Scheme” benefit in the event of all crop losses due to natural calamities. 3. Due to some unnecessary Welfare Schemes and Programmes for the sake of votes like Rythu Bandhu for rich people and due to wastage and corruption in the implementation, the Telangana once a surplus state is scrambling for funds and not in a position to pay salaries and pensions on 1st every month. They are paid mostly either in the second or third week of every month. Hence, it is recommended to revamp and reorient all the existing welfare schemes and programmes and to stick to strict financial discipline. 4. Limiting Dalit Bandhu to SCs, unsurprisingly this scheme is causing friction between Dalit groups and upper caste groups owing to the changing social dynamics. It is advised that this Scheme should also be extended to all other eligible economically backward communities. It’s worth noting that there is no online application process for the Dalit Bandhu scheme, and the application acceptance is limited to offline submissions, hence there is a scope for corruption. Corruption in Dalit Bandhu selection process deprives those who genuinely qualify. Critics allege that some leaders are demanding bribes for the selection of candidates for this Scheme. Hence, it is advised that this Scheme should be free from corruption and extended to all other eligible economically backward communities. 5. As there is a criticism that more than 5,000 auxiliary nurse midwives have not been paid their dues for their services since some years, who are really the back bone for the implementation KCR Kit Scheme should be paid and to implement this Scheme successfully. As there is a complaint regarding Johnson & Johnson talcum powder in KCR Kit causing ovarian cancer, should be replaced with the best available talcum powder. 6. There is a wide spread criticism among some sections of the society that Schemes like Kalyan Lakshmi and Shaadhi Mubarak making people lazy and not realizing their responsibilities as parents. Instead of such waste Schemes for votes sake, Government must educate the people, so that they can become responsible citizens of the country. 7. Aasara Pensions are good, but Telangana Government is facing financial crisis and not able to pay Aasara Pensions regularly as it requires over Rs 800 Crore per month. Hence, it is recommended that Government MUST implement this Scheme at any cost to help the poor and needy thereby cutting down wastage expenditure in the administration. 8. People in several areas tried to occupy double bed room houses by breaking the locks due to inordinate delay in allotting them to the beneficiaries. Hence, Government should provide these houses immediately as early as possible after they have been completed. Moreover, there is a wide spread criticism that lot of corruption took place in the construction of quality and also in the allotment of houses to the beneficiaries. Hence, strict measures should be taken to eradicate corruption in the allotment and quality should be maintained in the construction of the houses. 9. Regarding Mission Bhagiratha Scheme opposition parties complaints that there is a major scam in this Scheme, as a majority of the houses are not getting water. Citing examples that people were forced to manually draw water from wells. They said, tanks were constructed for the namesake only to raise the bills. There are several complaints that Mission Bhagiratha pipe lines are frequently broken and there is lot of wastage of water. Hence, Government must review all the complaints and measures strict measures should be taken in this direction. 10. Comptroller and Auditor General of India has reported that Mission Kakatiya, has failed to achieve the targets and the target for phase-1 was unrealistic. Consequently, progress in phase-2 and phase-3 of the Mission Kakatiya was low with 14 and zero per cent respectively. Removal of silt was one of the main components of Mission Kakatiya, but there was an average shortfall of 33 per cent in the removal of silt in 27 test-checked tanks. Prioritization of works was not in accordance with the guidelines. In view of these CAG observation, Telangana Government should take all the required steps. 11. Agriculture experts and those closely working with the Haritha Haram Programme have voiced concerns over the quality of seedlings being used as they are premature and would not be able to withstand the climatic conditions and will perish in the heat and rains. It is also criticized by many people that most of saplings are useless and may cause parthenium disease. Most of the saplings are not provided with tree guards. Hence, they were eaten by goats and thus cores of public money is being wasted. Hence, Government should take all necessary preventive steps in this direction. 12. Telangana Government took “U Turn” regarding the distribution of 3 acres of agricultural land to Dalits. Hence, Governments should think twice before promising the feasibility of such Schemes for votes sake. 13. The Mana Ooru -Mana Badi Scheme is aimed at providing basic infrastructure in order to improve attendance and retention of students in government schools. A decision has also been taken to introduce digital education gradually. This flagship programme is ambitious but ignored several basic needs like most of the schools not having regular teachers, no cleaning staff, no water facility and no toilets. The allocation funds to education in the State budget has sharply fallen from 11 percent in 2014 to 6 percent in 2022. In view of these facts, Government must take all the necessary steps to improve the standards in the schools. Conclusion: To conclude, Welfare Schemes and Programmes in Telangana State have made significant progress in addressing the needs of marginalized communities, but still there are several challenges that need to be addressed. Main challenges are ensuring the effective implementation of these schemes in remote and inaccessible areas. Additionally, there is a need to ensure that the benefits of these schemes should reach the most vulnerable sections of society, particularly poor people, women and children. Going forward, there is a need to strengthen social mobilization and community participation to ensure the sustainability of these Welfare Schemes and Programmes. References: 1. "The Roman Empire: in the First Century. The Roman Empire. Emperors. Nerva & Trajan – PBS". Pbs.org. 2. Amartya Sen: What China Could Teach India, Then and Now: The Citigroup & Asia Society Global Issues Series. 3. Andhra’s partition, federalism and the future – Jayaprakash Narayan. 4. Rythu Bandhu Scheme – Wikipedia 5. Rythu Bandhu: A lifeline scheme for farmers in (9/03/2023). 6. https://www.bqprime.com/election-2019-the-countdown/telanganas-rythu-bandhu-scheme-is-penny-wise-pound-foolish 7. Telanganahttps://dalitbandhu.telangana.gov.in 8. A Big Question on KCR Kit – Hans India (18/07/2018). 9. A Study On “Conditional Cash Transfer Schemes and Child Marriages in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana” by Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), Hyderabad. 10. Telangana govt’s Aasara pension ensures poor live with dignity – Telangana Today 19/08/2023. 11. https://2bhk.telangana.gov.in 12. https://missionbhagiratha.telangana.gov.in/ 13. https://www.therahnuma.com/mission-bhagiratha-is-a-big-scam 14. https://missionkakatiya.cgg.gov.in/homemission 15. https://www.newindianexpress.com/states/telangana/2018/mar/30/telangana-government-failed-in-its-ambitious-kakatiya-mission-to-clear-local-water-bodies-cag-1794634.html 16. https://www.myscheme.gov.in/schemes/haritha-haram 17. https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/hyderabad/haritha-haram-idea-may-fail-to-germinate/articleshow/47952622.cms 18. https://cm.telangana.gov.in/2019/06/land-distribution-to-dalits/ 19. https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/hyderabad/never-said-will-give-3-acres-to-dalit-families-kcr-in-house/articleshow/86797202.cms 20. https://cm.telangana.gov.in/2022/07/mana-ooru-mana-badi/ 21. https://www.thenewsminute.com/article/why-telangana-s-mana-ooru-mana-badi-programme-huge-let-down-167872