Hyderabad, Nov 10 (PTI) Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy on Tuesday said the state government is following clear and concrete policies to check new challenges like cybercrime, narcotics, traffic management and food safety.
Speaking at the valedictory ceremony of the training of newly-appointed Deputy Superintendents of Police (DSPs) here, he said the state government has set up dedicated police wings to check narcotics, food safety and cybercrime.
"Punjab, the land of warriors, is weakened (due to drugs). The Sikh Regiment in the Army showed great valour in safeguarding the country. Today, there is no recruitment from Punjab. Even the Britishers had written in their 'blue book' not to have a dispute with them. Such a land is now weakened due to drugs. More than 60 to 70 per cent of the population in Punjab is affected by drugs," he said.
While the drug menace increased in Hyderabad, the Congress government, after assuming office, set up the Elite Action Group for Drug Law Enforcement (EAGLE) Force, he said.
Similarly, the government has also established dedicated units for food safety and traffic management, he said.
"Traffic has become a major issue in Bengaluru, Mumbai and investments are not being attracted. Investments are shifting. A state's economy and its growth are related to traffic management," he said.
Observing that the absence of clear policies may hamper action against narcotics, cybercrime and other challenges, he said the government has formulated clear policies to deal with them.
The newly-recruited DSPs, who have domain knowledge of various topics, can opt for specific tasks such as cybercrime, he said.
The government is willing to facilitate education for young officers to study the subjects, including sending them abroad, to upgrade their skills, he said.
In a veiled attack on opposition BRS, he said some made allegations of corruption in the recruitment with the aim of defaming the process.
Though such allegations are not new to leaders like him, he said the state government fought a legal battle and the Supreme Court also upheld the recruitment process.
Out of the 563 Group I posts for which notifications were issued, 562 candidates have joined. The recruitment of 112 DSPs is a significant achievement. The government has maintained complete transparency throughout the recruitment process, he said.
Recalling that the last Group-1 services recruitment took place in 2011 during undivided Andhra Pradesh, he said no Group-1 recruitment was taken up in Telangana for nearly 13 years, until 2025.
The CM held the previous BRS government responsible for not conducting the Group 1 exams.
Alleging that individuals without requisite qualifications and eligibility were appointed as members of the Telangana State Public Service Commission (TGPSC) during the previous BRS regime, he said the Commission had effectively turned into a "political rehabilitation centre."
Highlighting that the Congress government had "cleansed" the Commission, the CM said he met the UPSC Chairperson to study the best practices and later appointed retired DGP Mahender Reddy and senior IAS officer B Venkatesam as the chairpersons of the TGPSC.
(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)