Ponnam Prabhakar launches Praja Palana in Banjara Hills, says no bias in disbursing benefits

HYDERABAD: Telangana BC Welfare and Transport Minister Ponnam Prabhakar announced that every eligible person in the society will benefit from the ‘Praja Palana’ programme.

Speaking at the Banjara Hills Ward Office on Wednesday, Ponnam Prabhakar said the applications would be accepted until January 6, 2024, as part of ‘Abhayahastam’, a state-wide initiative.

The Minister emphasised that the Congress party, which was given power by the people, would fulfill its promises and implement programmes in the name of ‘Praja Palana’. He said the benefits would be provided based on eligibility criteria without any unfairness or bias. He instructed the officials to accept applications without causing any difficulty to the beneficiary. He said that the Government would soon decide on all the pending issues.

The Minister said the programme would be conducted at 600 centres, with four locations per ward, covering all 150 wards in Hyderabad city. The Minister urged the officials to organise the programme to transform Hyderabad into an ideal town. He also noted that the change in power was a natural process in the public domain.

GHMC Mayor Gadwal Vijayalakshmi expressed her support for the program and emphasised the importance of public governance in serving the people. She stated that the Government should work towards delivering justice to the people, regardless of their political affiliations. She highlighted the need for the Government to address any doubts or concerns that the public may have.

On the other hand, Khairatabad division Councilor Vijaya Reddy stressed the significance of ration cards in various applications. She urged the Government to formulate a policy regarding issuing ration cards promptly.

Khairatabad MLA Danam Nagender emphasised the speedy implementation of the six guarantees within the first 100 days. He raised concerns about the absence of ration cards in the Abhayahastam application.

He also mentioned that during the previous Government's tenure, they granted a sum of three lakhs to 3,000 individuals under Grihalakshmi and could not disburse due to the election code. He urged the Minister to distribute cheques to the beneficiaries.

Zonal commissioner Venkatesh Dotre, Pollution Control Board member secretary Krishna Aditya, deputy commissioner Prashanthi, and other officials were also present.