TS registration series rolls out

After a fortnight-long wait for people, the Transport Department finally rolled out its TS series for registration of new vehicles in Telangana from Wednesday morning, with secondary alphabet series EA in all the 10 districts.

Since the State was formed on June 2, the department had put on hold allotment of numbers and issue of Registration Certificates (RC) for vehicles because it had to wait for the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways to give the nod for it to start the new ‘TS’ for vehicle registration.

Once the approval was received from New Delhi, officials here worked out the district-wise numeric series.

Orders issued

Finally, late on Tuesday evening, Government of Telangana issued orders signed by Principal Secretary holding additional charge of Transport, Ajay Misra, announcing the new series and registering authority codes. Interestingly, the secondary alphabet series of EA was chosen to give allowance for all the earlier letters starting from A onwards found in vehicles bought and registered before June 2. There are no directions from the government yet on whether the existing vehicles would continue with AP or simply change it to TS.

Joint Transport Commissioner J. Pandurang Naik said that since June 2, owners of 1,786 vehicles had applied for registration and awaiting numbers and Registration Certificates.

However, apart from processing these registrations, the department has its work cut out, going through the process for 39,063 vehicles of all categories that were bought after June 2 but whose owners have not applied for registration and still running them on temporary registration.

Fancy numbers

In a press release on Wednesday evening, Transport Commissioner Jagadeeshwar announced that the new series was introduced with EA for non-Transport and UA for Transport vehicles with effect from June 18.

He said fancy numbers were available up to 1000 initially, in each series in every district and said those interested to bid for fancy numbers could approach the concerned authorities.

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WILL TAKE ACTION AGAINST THOSE PERPETUATING FALSE CLAIMS AGAINST SHARMILA: KTR

Information Technology Minister for Telangana K Taraka Rama Rao said his government would initiate strict action against those responsible for optimizing the internet search engines to show YSRCP leader Sharmila’s name when searched for baseless rumours on her personal life. He said this was cyber crime and that the government would bring in special laws to curb such crimes.

"It is true that there are some crimes damaging personal life of individuals extensively in Cyber World. Soon after receiving a complaint against Sharmila Garu, we spoke to the Commissioner of police, and requested him to respond quickly," he said.  (I never met Sharmila before: Prabhas Raju)

Central Crime Station DCP Bala Raju said that it is the women who are mostly at the receiving end of cyber bullying.

"They might take extreme step doing harm to themselves if they continue being humiliated like this online," he said. (Sharmila files police complaint over online rumours on personal life)

Sharmila had lodged a police complaint on Saturday seeking action against certain websites what were peddling derogatory stuff against her.

Many unverified news reports were doing the rounds, spreading malicious content with the intention to hurt Sharmila's public image.

While responding on the same, former advocate general Ramachandra Rao said that before taking up such a smear campaigning against a woman they should think about their family members as well.   Websites writing such stories for the sake of cheap popularity should be banned, he demanded.

Actor Prabhas whose name was also mentioned  on the websites categorically said that he had neither met nor spoken to Sharmila. "The rumours in circulation are completely baseless and have not even an iota of truth in them," the release said.

"I hope the Police and concerned authorities will take necessary action against individuals responsible for perpetuating and spreading these kinds of rumours specific to this case and in general as they have potential to cause irreparable damage to the reputation of concerned individuals." he added.

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Bye Bye Krishnaiah

R. Krishnaiah, who joined the Telugudesam Party just before the elections has had a fantastic offer coming from TDP Chief CBN. Naidu announced the BC man as TDP’s CM candidate for Telangana before the elections. However, the honeymoon between Naidu and Krishnaiah is over it seems!

The BC CM candidate of the party is contemplating on ditching TDP and joining the Pink wagon party. The reasons seem to be clear. Krishnaiah is feeling dejected after being humiliated and ignored by the party after the election results.

Even when the TDP Legislature party meeting was held recently at Hyderabad, Krishnaiah was not even informed let alone invited by the party.

Now KCR wants Krishnaiah in his party as it will give him additional strength to have him reach the BCs in the Telangana state. In case KCR draws Krishnaiah into the party, then it will be a blow to the TDP as TRS vowed to wipe out TDP from the state by next elections and Krishnaiah’s inclusion will strengthen the party’s base among BCs.

It could mean more than that actually. In case Krishnaiah leaves TDP and Chandrababu doesn’t do anything then it will send negative signals to BCs in the seemandhra too. But it remains to be seen if Krishnaiah will remain in TDP or join TRS!

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No more bandhs and agitations, says Telangana IT Minister K T R

 The IT minister of Telangana, Mr K.T. Rama Rao, says that agitations and bandhs are things of the past, and that as the party running the government, the TRS will not call any more bandhs, even over the Polavaram issue.

The minister says that  although Hyderabad has lost some of its sheen due to agitations, it will now have an enhanced cosmopolitan feel and Chandrababu Naidu will be no threat to the IT industry of Telangana.

Excerpts from the interview:

The industry has seen repeated bandhs over the Telangana issue, which has led to a sense of apprehension. What can you assure industry as well as the IT professionals from across the country and Seemandhra working here?

The agitations were for a specific purpose, which has been achieved. Therefore there is no need for any apprehensions. It is a sad thing but in this country there is no other way to register a protest. It was the leadership in Delhi that delayed the decision for so long, and sadly a decision was taken only after so many people lost their lives.
We have promised the people of Telangana that we will improve their lives, and we will now deliver on the promises.

The political issues will remain as there are no two southern states, which do not have disputes over the sharing of water. The bandh call for Polavaram was technically before the government was formed. We are serious about the two lakh tribals in the Polavaram-affected villages, and now we will fight it out in the SC. I can assure that there will be no political witch-hunt, absolutely no political vendetta.

Mr Chandrababu Naidu is expected to bring about a IT revolution in AP. How do you plan to compete?
Investors will remain in Hyderabad as long as it is profitable for them. I plan to build on and enhance the brand image of Hyderabad. No businessman will go away from Hyderabad over regional affiliations. While Hyderabad belongs to Telangana, it also belongs to the entire country, and it will retain its cosmopolitan feel, and we will enhance it further.

After the past few years of apprehensions in the IT sector, I will focus on bringing the sector back on track. Whoever has already invested in Hyderabad, we want them to stay and also expand, and we want to attract more investments. Andhra Pradesh can grow but Hyderabad will not lose its edge. The ITIR project will take Hyderabad to the next level of growth.

What challenges are you are expecting?
One of the biggest challenges will be to develop the other parts of the state and the power shortage is a big challenge. The challenge would be to concentrate on developing the remaining half of the state (apart from extended Hyderabad), which is rich in resources. We need more power to increase irrigation potential. The challenge is not only to spur the growth of different sectors in the remaining part of the state but also structure Hyderabad to have equitable growth.

What are the positives you hope to bank on?
While many have been saying that Hyderabad has low real estate rates, I see it as a huge advantage. For any company that wants to set up an office here, the low cost of real estate can be a big attraction. Also housing is cheaper here. If we take Bengaluru and Chennai,  Hyderabad has a clear advantage.

While Bengaluru has only one-third the infrastructure of Hyderabad, the real estate is three times costlier. In Chennai again, the infrastructure is again one third of Hyderabad while the real estate cost is double. In addition to this all the incentives that were available earlier will be retained by the new government.

What are your plans to expand the IT industry in Hyderabad, bringing in new companies and developing clusters across the state?
The current IT corridor, which extends from Gachibowli up to Adibatla, is where the ITIR (Information Technology Investment Region) is coming up. For developing IT our focus will be on the ITIR. ITIR will take Hyderabad to the next level of growth, and we want to expedite it. This will result in a huge jump in employment.

For the remaining five districts of the state, which are not covered by extended Hyderabad, the idea is to develop other industries that will provide employment to people there, and keep them from migrating to Hyderabad. We have to improve power supply and irrigation in other districts, and must also exploit our resources.

What new facilities are you planning?
The growth spurt that was expected from the ORR (Outer Ring Road) has unfortunately not come. Therefore we are planning Regional Ring Roads connecting the main city through radial roads across the ORR. While we have the IT corridor from Gachibowli up to Adibatla, the growth is lopsided along the ORR.

We plan to develop a Pharma Park, which will provide infrastructure for Pharmaceutical companies; an education park bringing in education and research institutions; a leisure and amusement park, and a Sports City for multiple sports academies.
Also since the entire development now is towards the west side creating new hubs along ORR will help growth.

How do you plan to address the mounting security concerns in the IT corridor and the rest of the city?
We are planning to enhance security in the IT corridor as well as the city. We need 3,000 cameras in Cyberabad alone while another 7,000 cameras are needed for the rest of the city. We have only 315 cameras now, and the plan is to increase their number. I want information technology companies to sponsor them as part of their CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) so that the city’s security cover improves.

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T-state to have 24 districts soon: KCR

Telangana state would be divided into 24 districts for better administration, Chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao said on Wednesday. He also announced waiver of transport tax for auto rickshaws.

Addressing a public meeting following a victory rally during his maiden visit to his Gajwel constituency after assuming charge as Chief Minister, KCR said the state would soon have 24 districts and his government would strive for overall development of each district.

“Each district will have one hospital like NIMS. Every primary health centres would have 30 beds and every area hospitals will have 100 beds. All the government hospitals would be having better facilities than private hospitals,” he said.

He said that his government would constitute a State Advisory Council consisting of representatives from people’s organisations, editors and intellectuals, who would review all the government schemes and programmes and give suggestions to the government.

He said his government would give top priority to education and in next two years efforts would be made to provide free education to all the children from KG to PG.

Vowing to make Telangana a model state in all respects, KCR said welfare and development would be the two driving forces of his government.

“People of Telangana are looking forward to a progressive and development-oriented state. We will work in that direction and ensure a transparent administration. We will make Telangana a model state in the country in all respects,” he said.

In the next five years, the TRS government will spend `1 lakh crore for the welfare on Schedule Castes, Schedule Tribes, Backward Classes and minorities. Of this, `50,000 crore will be spent on SC welfare alone, KCR announced. He said as promised during the run-up to elections, `1,000 as pension for the aged and widows and `1,500 for the disabled will be provided at the earliest. He said he would develop surrounding areas of Hyderabad into a “horticulture hub”, which would create market for the farmers.

Announcing his plans for the development of Gajwel Assembly constituency represented by him, KCR announced that he would set up a Gajwel Development Authority for the overall development of the constituency.

He also announced the construction of 5,000 double-bedroom houses in Gajwel constituency. “As promised, houses with two bed rooms, one hall and kitchen, along with bathroom in 125 sq yards will be constructed for the economically backward,” he said.

“Land would be identified for the construction of houses in the constituency. I have directed the officials concerned to set up a counter in the constituency for collecting applications from the beneficiaries. I would see that all the poor in my constituency get houses,” he remarked.

The chief minister said he would see that in the next one and a half years, the problem of drinking water in the Gajwel region will be solved. “If we are not able to solve the drinking water problem then along with me all the MPTC members and sarpanches would have to resign. So, we will see that the issue is taken care of,” he asserted.

He said that his aim is to provide water to 2-3 lakh acres in next two to three years in Gajwel constituency. “A blueprint would be prepared for the implementation of the project,” he said.

To improve connectivity, he said a four-lane road would be laid between Pragnapur and Gajwel and a Central Lighting System would be set up. Later, interacting with MPTCs and sarpanches, KCR asked them to submit village-wise plans to the government.

Rao was all praises for district collector Smita Sabharwal for her exemplary work in Medak district. Addressing a public meeting and later in a review meeting here on Wednesday, Chandrasekhar Rao pointed at the reduction of Infant Mortality Rate (IMR) and Maternal Mortality Rate (MMR) in the district. “Due to the sincere efforts of the collector, Medak was able to achieve this. She did excellent work while working at Karimnagar,” he said.

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