Hyderabad, January 14: The jinxed Rachabanda, a programme designed to interact with people in villages to know their problems first hand, will be resurrected and held from January 24 to February 12 as per a decision taken by chief minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy.
The programme willl cover every village in the state and the chief minister will participate in the programme every day in each part of the state.
The programme was conceived by former chief minister YS Rajasekhara Reddy. When he was proceeding to Chittoor district for launching the programme he died in an air cash on September 2, 2009. His successor K Rosaiah kept the programme in abeyance.
Addressing a press conference here today, minister for housing and convener of the programme Kanna Lakshminarayana and minister for major and medium irrigation P Sudarshan Reddy said the chief minister took the decision at a review meeting held with ministers and officials here today.
Lakshminarayana said all elected representatives, including MLAs and ministers, would participate in the 20daylong programme. Schemes like pensions, ration cards, Arogyasri, Abhayahastam, housing, NREGA job cards, Pavala Vaddi and revamping of defunct IKP groups will be taken up under the Rachabanda Programme for which Rs 1,200 crore had been earmarked.
The minister said that the government decided that five lakh eligible families would be given temporary ration card coupons to draw rations for next three months and get other benefits till the permanent ration cards, Aadhar, were issued.
During the Rachabanda fresh applications for ration cards will be received and pension anomalies rectified. Under Abhayahastam all SCs and STs will be enrolled to reach saturation point. All the Pavala Vaddi arrears up to March 2010 which is to the tune of Rs 450 crore will be released. All the defunct IKP groups in urban and rural areas will be revived.
Under Housing, sanction letters for 4.7 lakh houses that were started and are at different stages of completion will be given under GO Ms 171.
The families that completed 100 days of wage employment under NREGA would be given work for 25 days more and the wages will be increased from Rs 100 to Rs 121.
The district collectors will hold a meeting with people’s representatives and officials under the chairmanship of in-charge minister to brief them on Rachchabanda.
Any financial requirement to redress the grievances or fulfil any assurances given at the interactive meetings will be met by meeting the expenditure from the regular budgets of the respective departments. The complaints and grievances received during the interaction will be registered and an acknowledgement receipt given to the petitioner.
–Agencies