NEW DELHI, Jul 4 : In a two-pronged approach to secure Telangana’s development and bolster its security apparatus, Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy held crucial meetings with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah here on Thursday.
The discussions, which saw Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka in attendance, covered a gamut of issues from intelligence modernisation to longstanding bifurcation disputes.
This was the first meeting between Modi and Reddy after the former was sworn in as the prime minister for a third straight term last month.
“We made a representation to both the prime minister and the home minister. We discussed all pending issues and received a positive response,” Vikramarka told reporters after the meeting.
At his meeting with Modi, Reddy presented an ambitious 10-point agenda for Telangana’s progress.
The proposals included allocation of coal blocks to Singareni Collieries Company Limited, the revival of the Information Technology Investment Region in Hyderabad, sanctioning 25 lakh houses under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana, Telangana’s inclusion in the India Semiconductor Mission and the establishment of an Indian Institute of Management (IIM) in Hyderabad.
Infrastructure and connectivity featured prominently during the talks, with requests for defence land allocation, upgrading state highways and expedited construction of the Regional Ring Road.
At the meeting with Shah, Reddy sought substantial financial support for the southern state’s intelligence infrastructure.
He requested for Rs 88 crore for the Telangana Anti-Narcotics Bureau (TGANB) and Rs 90 crore for the Telangana Cyber Security Bureau (TGCSB), emphasising the need for cutting-edge technology to combat drug-related and cyber crimes.
Highlighting the evolving security landscape, Reddy pushed for an additional 29 IPS posts, citing the inadequacy of the current 61 posts allocated during the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh. He urged for a review of the Indian Police Service (IPS) cadre, which was last conducted in 2016.
Reddy made a strong case for reinforcing security in the districts previously affected by left-wing extremism. He sought the establishment of security force camps in Adilabad, Mancherial and Komaram Bheem Asifabad districts, requesting their reinstatement under the Security-Related Expenditure (SRE) scheme.
Reddy also advocated for CRPF JTF camps at strategic locations along the Telangana-Chhattisgarh border to counter Maoist movements. A pending amount of Rs 18.31 crore for special police officers (SPOs) was also on the agenda.
The chief minister also discussed unresolved issues stemming from the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh.
He urged both Modi and Shah to facilitate a “harmonious resolution” of the disputes related to the distribution of government buildings, corporations and institutions in accordance with the Andhra Pradesh-Telangana Reorganisation Act.
As the state awaits the Centre’s response, these proposals could potentially shape Telangana’s growth trajectory in the coming years.
Reddy took charge as the Telangana chief minister after the Congress won the Assembly polls in the southern state last year. (PTI)
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