The reports that the newly-formed Congress government in Telangana headed by chief minister A Revanth Reddy is planning to constitute Indiramma committees in every village and municipality has triggered intense debate in the media.
According to the reports, the Indiramma committees are being planned to oversee the implementation of welfare schemes of the government at the grassroots level and take the benefits to the doorsteps of every beneficiary.
This sounds like the existing village and ward volunteers’ system being implemented in Andhra Pradesh by the Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy government.
Nearly three lakh village/ward volunteers are functioning in Andhra Pradesh, taking the benefits of the government schemes to every household directly.
In Telangana, there are 12,769 gram panchayats and 142 municipalities and it would require around 80,000-1 lakh volunteers all over the state to follow the Jagan Mohan Reddy’s style of volunteers’ system.
But so far, there is no clarity on how these Indiramma committees will shape up.
Having known how the Jagan Mohan Reddy government is facing the criticism for misusing the village/ward volunteers’ system, converting them into a virtual party network, Revanth might not dare to replicate the same.
It makes one wonder whether the Telangana chief minister will follow the concept of Janma Bhoomi committees, introduced by the Telugu Desam Party government headed by N Chandrababu Naidu in Andhra Pradesh between 2014 and 2018.
In this model, the committees will help the government in identifying the beneficiaries and see that the welfare schemes are reached out to them.
But Naidu, too, had incurred the wrath of the critics, by filling up Janma Bhoomi committees with “yellow brigade” and extended welfare schemes to only those who were recommended by these committees.
So, it remains to be seen whether Revanth would follow Jagan’s model or Naidu’s model.
There is also a possibility that he can come out with a mixed model, wherein the government officials and gram panchayats will have more say in execution of the schemes, and Indiramma Committees would only be catalysts.
