Hyderabad: Telangana Government Advisor Mohammed Ali Shabbir said the Congress government was committed to resolving public grievances and ensuring eligible beneficiaries received welfare benefits without procedural hurdles.
Speaking at the face-to-face programme at Gandhi Bhavan on Wednesday, Shabbir Ali said organisers had received 78 petitions. The complaints covered ration cards, double-bedroom houses, Indiramma housing, land and passbook issues, and admissions to government schools and colleges.
The programme also helped the party and government assess whether welfare schemes were reaching people at the grassroots level. Shabbir Ali attended the initiative for the second time and said organisers had conducted the latest programme more systematically.
Some applicants arrived without properly prepared representations. Organisers arranged assistance at Gandhi Bhavan to address the problem. Staff helped applicants prepare petitions, correct deficiencies and check their cases before sending them to the departments concerned.
The team contacted departmental officials and district Collectors whenever cases needed direct intervention. Shabbir Ali said organisers were pursuing genuine grievances within government rules.
Congress government responds to ration card and welfare complaints
Shabbir Ali expressed surprise that some families still lacked ration cards. The government had repeatedly asked eligible people to approach the authorities and obtain them, he said.
He said such cases showed that poor awareness still prevented some families from accessing welfare benefits. Shabbir Ali cited the case of a long-time Congress worker’s wife who approached the programme with a grievance.
She said her family had neither a ration card nor a house despite her husband having worked for the party for several years.
Several petitioners had already approached Prajavani and other offices more than once. Many still did not understand why authorities had rejected their applications, Shabbir Ali said.
Organisers counselled those applicants and explained the documents or corrections they needed. Where rules allowed, the team helped applicants remove deficiencies and regain eligibility in the online system.
Even people aged between 85 and 90 years reached Gandhi Bhavan with grievances. The team explained the procedures to elderly applicants in language they could understand, he said.
Shabbir Ali said officials could not approve every request simply because someone had submitted a petition. Welfare benefits had to follow prescribed rules. Genuine cases, however, would receive recommendations and follow-up.
The Congress government would pursue genuine cases with the departments concerned, while ensuring that applicants received either a solution or a clear response.
Housing cases receive individual scrutiny
Housing complaints also featured prominently among the petitions. Some applicants sought double-bedroom houses constructed during the previous BRS government.
Shabbir Ali said authorities were allotting some of those houses through a lottery system. Other petitioners raised grievances concerning Indiramma houses.
In some cases, beneficiaries had completed the basement stage and received the first instalment. Officials later stopped further payments after records showed ownership of a motorcycle, car or tractor.
The team examined those cases individually and referred them to the officials concerned, Shabbir Ali said. Organisers checked each applicant’s circumstances before pursuing further action.
TPCC president Mahesh Kumar Goud had constituted the team for the programme. Shabbir Ali described the initiative as a bridge between the government, Congress party and the public.
He appreciated Senior General Secretary Jagadish and his team for organising the exercise. He also thanked Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy and Mahesh Kumar Goud for creating a platform where people could raise unresolved issues directly.
Some beneficiaries later returned to Gandhi Bhavan and reported that their grievances had been resolved. Shabbir Ali said some had received ration cards and were now seeking housing assistance.
The programme, he said, was intended to give applicants proper guidance and follow-up rather than merely collect petitions.
Parents show greater interest in government institutions
Education-related petitions had also increased, according to Shabbir Ali. Parents were seeking admissions for their children in government schools, colleges and BC, Minority, SC and ST Gurukul institutions.
Some parents had earlier enrolled their children in private institutions. They were now seeking transfers to government institutions because of breakfast, uniforms, improved education and better amenities.
Shabbir Ali said parents were showing greater confidence in government education. He alleged that around 4,000 schools had closed during the previous BRS regime and claimed many were now reopening or becoming functional again.
Government Intermediate colleges had earlier faced poor enrolment, particularly in rural areas. Shabbir Ali said the situation was changing, with admissions becoming competitive at several institutions.
He cited a recent review of one Intermediate college where enrolment had increased from about 600 students to 1,200 this year. The institution had 12 rooms and sought another 12 to accommodate the increased intake.
The government was ready to provide funds for additional rooms and infrastructure where required, he said. Shabbir Ali cited cases involving expenditure of around Rs 20 lakh for such needs.
He credited Chief Minister Revanth Reddy, who also oversees the Education portfolio, with measures to strengthen government schools and colleges.
Shabbir Ali referred to breakfast, better uniforms and improved food quality among the measures. He said the government had increased diet charges by about 40 per cent and certain student-related charges by up to 200 per cent.
Teacher appointments and infrastructure improvements had also contributed to renewed confidence in government education, he said.
Shabbir Ali said the face-to-face programme aimed to do more than collect petitions. Organisers wanted people who approached Gandhi Bhavan with expectations to receive proper guidance and follow-up.
“We will make every possible effort to ensure that those who come here with trust and expectation do not return disappointed or lose confidence in the system,” he said.