Telangana to continue Kalyana Lakshmi, Shaadi Mubarak schemes

The Congress government in Telangana has said it has no intention of scrapping the Kalyana Lakshmi and Shaadi Mubarak schemes. Ministers Ponnam Prabhakar and Vakiti Srihari said the budget for the current fiscal has been allocated and approved in the assembly. The government is appealing before a division bench of the high court to vacate a stay on the schemes.

Ponnam alleged that the previous BRS government's Government Orders for the schemes lacked adequate legal protection. The high court recently stayed the operation of all eight GOs. The ministers accused BRS of spreading fear among people. Srihari said the fault lies with the previous government for not ensuring legal safeguards.

The government is investigating whether the failure to file a counter-affidavit earlier was due to negligence by officials. Action will be taken against those responsible. Ponnam said Rs 16,375 crore has been spent since 2014, benefiting 16.7 lakh people. The next hearing is posted for September 9, but a counter is being filed before that date.