Services already hit in Hyderabad

NT Rama Rao attained popularity with his rice scheme when he doled out rice at Rs 2/kg during his regime. YS Rajasekhara Reddy too pitched for the populist scheme by relaunching it just ahead of the 2010 elections.

Taking the populist schemes to another level, chief minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy on Wednesday announced that his government would provide one kg of rice for Re 1 from November 1 to coincide with the state formation day. The CM said the Re 1/kg rice scheme would benefit 2.26 crore families in the state.

While the CM's managers said it was a 'Dasara gift' from the government for the BPL families, analysts observed that it looked like Kiran wanted to become more famous than NTR and YSR. "While the entire Telangana region is boiling with strikes and agitations, Kiran is busy announcing populist schemes to protect his chair," a senior analyst told TOI.

He said the CM was getting desperate as he was unable to get a firm grip on the administration. "Since he does not have any grassroots support, he is looking at gaining some publicity by emulating NTR and YSR," he opined. He hoped Kiran won't go ahead and announce another scheme of free distribution of 20 kg rice to PDS beneficiaries as launched by his Tamilnadu counterpart Jayalalithaa.

Addressing a Rythu Mahila Sadassu in Tirupati on Wednesday, the CM said his government would not be found wanting when it comes to implementing welfare schemes. Taking pot-shots at Chandrababu Naidu and Jaganmohan Reddy, the CM said the government was not running away from people's problems.

"Never in the history of AP has such a boon been granted to the BPL families by any government or any chief minister. The rice scheme will benefit 2.26 crore families," a senior official claimed. Sources said the subsidy burden on the state exchequer for the new rice scheme would be Rs 600 crore.

While the subsidy requirement for the Rs 2/kg rice scheme was Rs 2,000 crore, the subsidy burden for the new rice scheme would be Rs 2,600 crore. While the officials were clueless on providing the grants, experts said the Rs 600 crore additional burden on the exchequer at a time when the Telangana stir was reaching its peak could be suicidal. "The government finances are at an all-time low. How would it recoup the loss," a financial expert asked.

Sources said 3.3 lakh metric tonnes of rice would be required every month to implement the populist scheme. While the state has 2.01 crore BPL families, the government would soon be issuing 25 lakh new ration cards to the beneficiaries.

"That means there would be 2.26 crore BPL families in the state. But how would the government meet the rice requirement when the Konaseema farmers have already announced crop holiday," Kumara Swamy of Bharatiya Kisan Sangh sought to know.

Earlier, the CM said the government would soon issue 25 lakh new ration cards during Rachabanda second phase. He had promised 6 lakh ration cards in Rachabanda first phase. The chief minister also announced that the government would provide one lakh jobs by the end of December this year. Further, he announced several sops for his home district of Chittoor district, including jobs for the youth, water supply to all the villages and loans for women.

It was in 1983 that Telugu Desam Party founded by NTR had romped to a major victory in the state on the promise of Rs 2/ kg rice scheme.