Telangana News | Revenue Minister urges Collectors to stay alert amid heavy rains

Hyderabad: Telangana Revenue Minister, Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy, has instructed District Collectors to remain vigilant amid the widespread heavy rains across the state, urging them to take immediate measures to prevent any disruption to public life.

The Minister directed district administrations to be fully prepared to handle any situation given the weather department’s warning that heavy rainfall is expected to continue for the next five days.

Following instructions from Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy, Minister Srinivas Reddy held a video conference from the Khammam District Collectorate on Tuesday with Telangana Chief Secretary Shanti Kumari and District Collectors.

The conference addressed not only the ongoing heavy rains but also discussed the draft of the new Revenue Act-2024, Dharani applications, and the Layout Regularization Scheme (LRS), an official statement said.

During the meeting, the Minister suggested that District Collectors consider declaring holidays for educational institutions based on local weather conditions over the next five days. Despite the heavy rains in Greater Hyderabad, Nizamabad, and other districts since last night, authorities expressed satisfaction with the measures taken to minimize inconvenience to the public.

Minister Srinivas Reddy reviewed the situation in various districts and issued directives on protective measures, particularly for low-lying and flood-prone areas.

He emphasized the need for coordinated efforts among the Municipal, Metro Water Board, and Traffic Departments in Greater Hyderabad to ensure the public faces no undue hardships.

The Minister also urged District Collectors to work with relevant government departments to prevent any loss of life and property. He recommended setting up control rooms in every collectorate and assured that the state capital is available for assistance at any time.

In addition, the Minister instructed Collectors to hold a workshop on August 23 and 24 with intellectuals from various fields to discuss the draft of the new Revenue Act-2024, which the state government is ambitiously developing.

Collectors were also directed to resolve both pending and newly received Dharani applications within the next ten days, providing clear reasons for any rejections. Revenue Principal Secretary Naveen Mittal was asked to focus specifically on Ranga Reddy, Sangareddy, and Vikarabad districts, where the backlog of applications is particularly high.

The Minister emphasized the importance of accelerating the layout regularization process, which could benefit lakhs of families. He stressed that land regularization must be conducted strictly according to the rules, with stringent measures in place to prevent any irregularities. Special teams should be established for field inspections and help desks should be set up to assist with LRS.

Chief Secretary Shanti Kumari was advised to appoint a special grade Deputy Collector as a supervising officer for each district to oversee the entire LRS process. Applicants who did not provide the necessary documents at the time of their LRS application should now submit them through a special app. A pilot project will process 100 LRS applications in each district during the first phase.

Collectors were advised to prioritize these applications, keeping in mind that approximately 25 lakh LRS applications were submitted in 2020 during the previous government, many of which remain unresolved after four years.