Hyderabad: Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) Siddipet MLA T Harish Rao on Sunday, January 19 asked the Telangana government to increase the income and land holding limits for new ration card eligibility.
The senior BRS leader cited growing inflation as the reason for his demand, further appealing for reforms, including extending the eligibility criteria to ensure no poor family is left out.
He welcomed the recent announcement to issue ration cards to Praja Palana applicants, terming it a victory for the BRS. However, he criticised the Congress government for its inaction until pressured.
Taking to X, Harish Rao said it was under the aegis of the BRS government the eligibility of ration cards was raised from Rs 60,000 to Rs 1.5 lakh and Rs 75,000 to Rs 2.5 lakh in rural and urban areas respectively. Landholding limits were also increased, enabling lakhs of poor families to access basic needs.
He appreciated that the application process will remain continuous to prevent further deprivation. He also demanded that Mee-Seva applications are also considered for ration cards.
The former Telangana finance minister also stressed the need to include marginalised groups such as ASHA workers, Anganwadi workers, contract employees and outsourcing workers, among others, in the ration cards. He called for extending the Indiramma Atmeeya Bharosa scheme to all agricultural labourers, both rural and urban, without linking it to Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS).
“The poor, whether in villages or cities, remain marginalized. Ration cards and welfare schemes must be accessible without arbitrary cuts or restrictive conditions,” he asserted.
Telangana to issue new ration cards to eligible from Jan 26
He reaffirmed that the BRS will continue to raise issues of public concern and hold the Congress government accountable for inclusive welfare policies. He demanded the government address rising inflation by revising income and land limits to ensure fair access for low-income families. “Every time you try to deceive people, we will question,” he warned.
Ration cards to be distributed in Telangana on January 26
The BRS MLA’s demand comes after the Telangana government announced that new ration cards will be issued to people on January 26. State transport and backward classes welfare minister Ponnam Prabhakar told the media after meeting officials in Hyderabad that the beneficiaries will be identified during the verification process at the field level between January 16 and 20.
The data of identified beneficiaries will be entered from January 21 and new ration cards will be issued from January 26. Prabhakar, who is in-charge minister for Hyderabad, said the Congress government has not laid down any new criteria for issuing new ration cards.
He said the eligibility rules framed in the past would be followed to issue the ration cards. He also assured that the families, who migrated to Hyderabad from districts, would also be issued ration cards.
He said the government would rise above politics to do justice to the poor. Ponnam Prabhakar said applications for new ration cards and Indiramma houses would be accepted. He said those who have lands in Hyderabad would be given priority under the Indiramma housing scheme to help them build houses.
The minister said the Congress government would also complete the double-bedroom houses whose construction was taken up by the previous government.
(With inputs from IANS)
