From KCR to Revanth: Big Dreams, Empty Coffers?
The reality is different; the picture shown is something else. In this regard, BRS chief and former Telangana Chief Minister KCR ranks at the top. While in power, he made numerous promises. One such promise was the development of Karimnagar on the lines of London. He even claimed that it would materialize soon. But in the ten years of his rule, it can be said that nothing was done in that direction. He also announced that the Old City in Hyderabad would be transformed like Istanbul. Everyone knows how much of that actually happened. Even in areas like the Assembly and Raj Bhavan, water stagnates when it rains. They criticized the previous united rulers for this and claimed they would complete such works within a year of coming to power. But despite being in power for ten years, they failed to accomplish even that. Cut to the present, Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy also seems to have joined KCR’s club. The reason—Revanth too is making repeated announcements along the same lines. On Friday, while touring Turkapalli in Nalgonda district, Revanth Reddy announced, just like KCR, that Hyderabad, the capital city of Telangana, would be developed like New York and Tokyo.
Revanth Reddy has made such statements in the past too. He claimed they would not compete with neighboring states like Tamil Nadu and Karnataka but with the world. But what is the actual situation? The state is struggling to manage its debts, and when they approach Union Ministers, they are looked at as if they are beggars, as per Revanth Reddy's own words. The Revanth Reddy government is reportedly struggling to pay government employees not just their regular dues but also their retirement benefits and DA from the savings they had put aside. Meanwhile, the words coming from Revanth are being criticized as overly exaggerated. It's well known that government employees in Telangana are having to approach the courts to get their legally entitled retirement benefits. Moreover, many promises made during the recent elections still remain unfulfilled. Given the state's financial condition, there is uncertainty whether these promises can be implemented at all. Before the elections, Revanth Reddy criticized the BRS for pushing the state into a debt trap and questioned how the same party could justify giving massive promises.
At that time, he declared that simply controlling the corruption that took place during the BRS regime would be enough to implement all promises. Just as KCR kept repeating slogans like “Golden Telangana” and “Platinum Telangana” during his ten-year rule, now Revanth Reddy too is moving forward claiming he will transform Hyderabad into a “Future City” like New York and Tokyo. Given the current situation in the state, even some ministers are expressing doubts over how far these proposed projects like Future City and the Musi River rejuvenation project will move forward after Revanth took office. On one hand, Revanth Reddy claims there are no funds at all, yet on the other hand, he continues to make grand announcements about turning Hyderabad into New York or Tokyo—leading to comments that he too has joined the KCR club.
