HYDERABAD: The ambitious Integrated Novel Development in Rural Areas and Model Municipal Areas (Indiramma) programme to build model villages and towns at a cost of Rs. 23,000 crores drew heavy flak from the Opposition parties in the Assembly on Monday, pushing the Government into defensive.

The Telugu Desam Party members even staged a walkout alleging that the Government had taken up the programme merely with an eye on next year's panchayat elections.

Dubbing the programme "a great deception", T. Devender Goud and N. Janardhan Reddy (both TDP), said it was being launched without conducting a survey. Besides, only those panchayats held by the Congress had been selected and the needs of the others kept on the backburner. "How will you mobilise Rs. 23,000 crores needed for the programme?" he asked.

Rosaiah's counter

Countering these charges, Finance Minister K. Rosaiah recalled how the Chandrababu Naidu Government embarked on Vision-2020 with an outlay of Rs. 35 lakh crores and wanted to know if the sources for mobilising this amount were mentioned in the document.

Panchayat Raj Minister J. C. Diwakar Reddy said the ultimate aim of launching a programme was to win elections again but the Congress Government, while serving its interests, would do full justice to the villages and families under the scheme. He said that 1.79-crore of below-poverty line people would be covered under Phase I of the scheme during the first year and the rest by 2008. About 40-lakh houses would be constructed with Rs. 10,000 crores.

The CPI (M), the CPI, the Telangana Rashtra Samiti and the BJP said that the new programme like Janmabhoomi and the Indira Gandhi's 20-point programme would stifle local bodies and dilute the spirit of the 73rd and 74th Constitution amendments.

Dharna threat

N. Narsimhaiah of CPI(M) warned that his party would stage dharna if the Government was not even-handed in its approach. Ch. Venkata Reddy (CPI) said the selection of villages had already divided people.

K. Eswari (TRS) sought to know the yardsticks adopted for the selections and wanted MLAs to be consulted. G. Kishen Reddy (BJP) said that nothing had been done to villages in the past 55 years of Independence. M. Buddha Prasad (Congress), who initiated the debate, lauded the programme.

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