Telangana chief minister Revanth Reddy vows to transform state into a ‘lush green forest’, empower one crore women

Hyderabad: Chief minister A Revanth Reddy on Monday launched the Van Mahotsav 2025 at the Botanical Garden in Professor Jayashankar Agricultural University, Rajendranagar, announcing an ambitious target to plant 18.03 crore saplings this year. Through this initiative, he said, Telangana aims to transform into a ‘lush green forest’ in the coming years.

Marking the launch, Revanth planted a Rudraksha tree and visited a photo exhibition on forestry and environmental conservation. The CM urged every mother in the state to nurture at least two saplings at home, likening them to raising children. “If every mother takes care of two trees like her own children, Telangana will turn green in no time,” he said.

Shifting focus to women’s empowerment, CM Revanth outlined a comprehensive roadmap to economically uplift women across Telangana. He reiterated his commitment to making one crore women ‘crorepatis’ through a range of govt welfare and livelihood programmes.

To facilitate this economic transformation, the state has earmarked ₹21,000 crore under bank linkage support for women’s groups this year alone, he said. “The goal is not just economic support. We want to see women take up leadership positions, run enterprises, and shape the future of Telangana,” he said.

Taking a swipe at the previous BRS regime, Revanth accused it of sidelining women for over a decade, pointing out that not a single woman was part of the cabinet during its tenure.

He paid tribute to former prime ministers Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi, crediting them for foundational reforms such as Indiramma houses, land titles, and women’s reservations in local bodies. “It is because of Rajiv Gandhi’s 33% reservation in panchayats that leaders like Gadwal Vijayalakshmi and Srilatha could become mayor and deputy mayor,” he said.

‘60 assembly tickets for women’

In a major announcement, the chief minister declared that 60 assembly seats would be reserved for women in the upcoming elections.

He said that the Congress govt is committed to implementing 33% women’s reservation in the legislature. With the reorganisation of constituencies increasing the total number of seats in Telangana to 153, at least 51 seats will be earmarked for women. “We will go a step further and add nine more from our party, taking the total to 60,” Revanth said.

“In Indiramma rajyam, girls must stand with dignity and self-respect,” he declared, underscoring his personal commitment to women’s political empowerment.