Former minister T Harish Rao alleged that the Congress govt owes ₹66,000 to each person

Hyderabad : Former minister T Harish Rao alleged that the Congress govt owes ₹66,000 to each person with a disability, accusing it of failing to fulfil promises made to the community. He said the govt had promised a ₹6,000 monthly pension, free bus travel and recruitment to backlog vacancies.

Speaking at the Samara Shankharavam meeting held at GSR Convention Hall in Hastinapuram on Saturday, Harish demanded that the Congress govt fulfil its commitments to people with disabilities.

Harish recalled the Congress party’s election promises, including a ₹6,000 monthly pension, free bus travel, reservations in local bodies and filling backlog vacancies. He said Telangana has around 5.11 lakh persons with disabilities and claimed that if the promised ₹6,000 monthly pension had been paid over the past 33 months, each beneficiary would have received around ₹66,000 more. “During the KCR govt, the pension for persons with disabilities was increased from ₹500 to ₹4,016. Harish said the BRS govt spent around ₹54,000 crore on Aasara pensions during its 10-year tenure. Of this, about ₹10,300 crore was spent on pensions for persons with disabilities, which were paid regularly every month. “Telangana received a national award in 2015 for the effective implementation of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act.

They were treated with dignity and as members of the family, not merely as voters,” he said. This reflects the commitment of the previous BRS govt to the welfare of persons with disabilities,” Harish said.

In some cases, pensions for three months are pending,” he said. “Chief minister Revanth Reddy has not increased the disability pension by even one rupee. In fact, pensions are not being paid regularly. They are paid for one month and stopped the next.