The Telangana Cabinet has approved a free Rs 5-lakh life insurance scheme for every family in the state, along with the distribution of Indiramma saris to more than one crore women. Both programmes will be launched from Siddipet on November 19, the birth anniversary of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, Information and Public Relations Minister Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy said after the Cabinet meeting.
The Indiramma Family Life Insurance scheme will cover every family in Telangana, according to the minister. The government has scheduled a household-level application drive from November 20 to 30, during which Indiramma Committees will visit every household in every village to collect applications.
Tahsildars and gram panchayat secretaries will receive the applications, placing local revenue and rural administrative offices at the centre of the enrolment process. The arrangement means the scheme’s implementation will depend on the ability of village-level committees and officials to identify households, collect applications and process records within the announced window.
The Cabinet also approved the distribution of Indiramma saris to more than one crore women. The announcement did not specify the distribution mechanism, eligibility criteria or the financial allocation for the sari programme.
The two schemes will be launched alongside the ‘Maa Indiramma Intlo Deepavali’ programme. Under this initiative, ministers and MLAs will celebrate Diwali with beneficiaries of Indiramma houses in their constituencies. The government said 2.25 lakh Indiramma houses had already been completed and that the programme would be organised in all completed houses.
The Cabinet’s decisions also covered changes to administrative and public-service institutions. It approved the abolition of the existing combined Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes Commission and approved separate commissions for SC and ST communities. The Telangana State Commission for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes Act, 2003, will be repealed. Each new commission will have a chairman and five members, with the stated aim of speeding up the resolution of grievances.
The government further approved an ordinance to amend the Telangana Fire Service Act. The proposed changes will focus on fire prevention, identifying the causes of fires and improving emergency response. They will specify precautions for owners of houses, apartments and shopping complexes, as well as responsibilities for the Fire Services department.
The Cabinet also approved an amendment to Section 12(A) of the Telangana Survey and Boundaries Act, 1923. The amendment will reduce the time available for filing appeals against survey and boundary notices from 60 days to 30 days.
On the judicial infrastructure front, 56 posts were sanctioned for newly established junior civil judge-cum-additional judicial first class magistrate courts at Kataram in Jayashankar Bhupalpally district and Elkathurthi in Hanamkonda district. Another 80 posts were approved for four additional courts at Siddipet, Choutuppal in Yadadri-Bhuvanagiri district, Mahabubabad and Vemulawada in Rajanna-Sircilla district. The total number of posts sanctioned was 136.
The immediate next step for the insurance scheme is the household application exercise scheduled between November 20 and 30, followed by the launch of both welfare programmes in Siddipet on November 19.
