Hyderabad: Opposition Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) on Tuesday, January 6, continued its boycott of the Winter Session of the Telangana Assembly over Chief Minister Revanth Reddy’s unparliamentary words against its leaders KT Rama Rao and Harish Rao, while I-T Minister Sridhar Babu defended the controversial Hyderabad Industrial Land Transformation (HILT) Policy that had been heavily criticised by the pink party.
During Day 5 of the Assembly proceedings, Transport Minister Ponnam Prabhakar discussed the state’s policy on electric vehicles (EV), pollution and fire accidents. Deputy Chief Minister Bhatti Vikramarka spoke on the vacancies in Singareni hospitals and assured that all posts would be filled by March this year.
A heated discussion also took place between the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) over Special Intensive Revision (SIR) being carried out in various states.
Ponnam Prabhakar on EVs, Hyderabad pollution
Speaking in the Assembly, the Transport Minister said the government has requested EV companies to provide incentives such as a 20 per cent discount to customers. He informed that the government has incurred a loss of Rs 900 crore in taxes but remains committed to promoting a clean and sustainable transport in Telangana. “As many as 575 RTC buses across the state are operating under the PM e-Drive scheme and 200 more will be inducted soon. Of these, 100 buses are for Warangal and 50 for Nizamabad,” he said.
Prabhakar said 22,340 cases were registered against vehicles plying without fitness certificates and 28,970 cases were booked for operating without pollution under control (PUC) certificates. “The department collected Rs 4.28 crore in fines from fitness certificate violations and Rs 2.38 crore from PUC-related offences,” he told the House.
He said vehicles older than 15 years, including RTC buses and government vehicles, will be sent for scrapping.
Speaking about the fire services department, the minister said that the state recorded 8,861 fire incidents in 2025, in which 163 people died. Additionally, property worth Rs 879 crore was also damaged.
AIMIM clashes with BJP over SIR
During a debate on two Telangana Municipalities (Amendment) bills, AIMIM floor leader Akbaruddin Owaisi pointed out that the Election Commission proposes to take up SIR in the third phase in Telangana.
He said that the exercise risks the disenfranchisement of legitimate voters, particularly Muslims, and raised concern over the name deletions in Bihar and West Bengal.
Meanwhile, BJP floor leader A Maheshwar Reddy responded by saying he does not understand why the Speaker gave an opportunity to the AIMIM member to speak for long when he was speaking on Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, which are not related to the issue at hand.
He said that the SIR is being carried out to remove fake votes, irrespective of communities, and does not understand how “Hindu-Muslim” comes into this debate.
Sridhar Babu defends HILT policy
The I-T Minister defended the HILT Policy, saying that the policy aims to reduce pollution in Hyderabad by shifting polluting industries out of the city.
The BRS, which continued its boycott of the Assembly, had earlier alleged that in the name of HILT, the Congress government was selling away 9,300 acre of industrial land worth almost Rs 5 lakh crore. BRS Working President KT Rama Rao had claimed that the lands that were once given by the government to industries to create jobs for people are now being given to private individuals.
In defence of the government, Sridhar Babu said that the buffer zone between industrial areas and residential areas had completely disappeared in recent years, which is why the government had decided to shift the industries beyond the Outer Ring Road (ORR).
Speaking on employment opportunities in the state, the minister said that the recently held Telangana Rising conclave attracted investments of Rs 5 lakh crore. “This will generate significant employment opportunities for the youth,” he said.
According to him, Housentrio and Sista IT are expected to generate around 1,000 jobs each, Cognizant’s new campus will create about 5,000 jobs and expansion of Infosys and Wipro will generate 17,000 and 5,000 jobs, respectively.
He informed the Assembly that the government has brought 70 global capability centres (GCCs) and that the fourth phase of Genome Valley has been completed.
Singareni hospitals vacancies to be filled by March: Bhatti
On the recruitment of health care for Singareni hospitals, Deputy Chief Minister Bhatti Vikramarka assured the Assembly that all vacant posts of doctors and staff would be filled by March. “The government has issued a notification to recruit 32 doctors. The recruitment process for 176 paramedical staff is currently underway,” he said.
To improve access to advanced cardiac care for its workers, a Cath Lab will be established at Godavarikhani within the next 75 days, he said.
“The welfare of Singareni workers and their families is our top priority,” he retaliated.
Uttam Kumar Reddy speaks on Kaleshwaram project
Speaking on the Polavaram–Nallamala Sagar issue, Irrigation Minister N Uttam Kumar Reddy said the government has decided to appeal for an interim stay in the Supreme Court.
The previous day, on January 5, the Supreme Court quashed the writ petition filed by the Telangana government and directed it to file a civil suit instead. It also asked to consider mediation with Andhra Pradesh.
Referring to irrigation infrastructure work, the minister said the design consultancy for repairs to the Medigadda, Annaram and Sundilla barrages is yet to be finalised. He said three agencies, in association with various Indian Institutes of Technology (IIT), have submitted proposals and officials have been instructed to finalise the consultancy strictly in accordance with rules and merit.
The Bill to upgrade Nalgonda municipality into a municipal corporation was also introduced on Day 5 of the Winter Session.
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