Draft plans from village level towards 're-invented' state: Telangana CM

He added there is no harm even if we spend two or three months in planning things

Advocating a bottom-up approach, Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao today asked his government machinery to draft plans from the village level towards a "re-oriented and re-invented" state.

"Plan for the village. Plan for the mandal. Plan for the district and then plan for the state. What all happened in the past is irrelevant for Telangana. Plan critically in the context of Telangana. It should not be a mere bureaucratic planning. Take every elected public representative right from the village level into confidence while drafting the plans," Rao said.

Addressing a day-long workshop aimed at giving a direction to the new state, the Chief Minister said he would himself get involved in the planning process in certain critical departments and asked his Cabinet colleagues to play their part in their respective departments.

"I am not in a hurry. People have given us mandate for 60 months. There is no harm even if we spend two or three months in planning things. A better plan is half victory, so we have to have an integrated plan. We have full five years and scope for ensuring a sea change of things," Chandrasekhar Rao remarked.

Noting that all laws hitherto were framed in the context of (united) Andhra Pradesh, the Chief Minister said new laws would be framed with a Telangana orientation.

"We may not reject the laws in toto. We may also not absorb them in toto. Some of the laws could be useful for us," he pointed out.

Listing agriculture, irrigation, industrial development, panchayat raj and forestry as priority areas for his government, KCR emphasised at the same time that "welfare" would be the flagship programme.

"Poverty alleviation is our top challenge," he said.

He reiterated that his government would adopt "zero tolerance" to corruption.

"I will not spare even my kith and kin if they indulge in corruption," he asserted.

KCR's Cabinet colleagues, Telangana Chief Secretary Rajiv Sharma, six advisors to the government, Special Chief Secretaries, Principal Secretaries, Secretaries, heads of departments, district Collectors, joint collectors and other officials attended the workshop.