Strong Civil Society Activism Built During Telangana Movement Should Be Sustained – Prof Kodandram

A strong civil society activism and a base that had been built up during the separate Telangana movement should be sustained to ensure that the state government delivers on its promises, TJAC chairman Prof M Kodandaram has said.

Describing that the struggle for the statehood was culmination of various uprisings against exploitation in the name of caste, region and culture, he said ‘’Now that statehood has been achieved, there are apprehensions that the democratic spaces created by the civil society in the run-up to the Telangana state will be appropriated by political parties. It is true. Despite this, civil society has to be a unifying force to reckon with,’’ he said.

He made these observations after inaugurating a seminar titled ‘Social Development in Telangana’ with his lecture on ‘’The road to equality and social justice in the state of Telangana’’ organised by the Council for Social Development (CSD) here on Thursday. He pointed out that prior to the merger with Andhra state, the region was home to tanks and wells overflowing with water and suggested the state government to review the concept of medium irrigation projects.

‘’Instead of major irrigation projects, the state government should invest on developing tanks and borewells to help the farmers,’’ he added.

Notwithstanding hurdles, the state government should implement free education and medical services to all, he affirmed. ‘’Besides, promoting small scale industries should be the top priority of the government like developing spinning mills as there is abundance of cotton available in the region,’’ he added.

Highlighting the importance of the role of the Central government in the development of the new state, he said that the tension between the Telangana government headed by TRS and the Central government should be resolved immediately.

Finding fault with the Central government issuing an ordinance to merge the seven mandals in Khammam district with the residuary AP state, he said, ‘’Even after Telangana state was achieved, the powerful corporate lobby of Coastal Andhra still exerts pressure on the Delhi government. The result is that the tribals are being deprived of their livelihood. The Union government has not bothered to take the opinion of tribals living there,” he opined.

Earlier, CSD director Kalpana Kannabiran and former Planning Commission member B N Yugandhar also spoke.

Source: New Indian Express