Telangana scraps GO 111, charts out plan for 21-day fete for State formation day

HYDERABAD: The first-ever Cabinet meeting held in the newly constructed Dr B R Ambedkar Telangana State Secretariat on Thursday under the chairmanship of Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao (KCR) decided to scrap the GO 111 which has become a hindrance to the development of 84 villages on the outskirts of Hyderabad.

Briefing the media at the secretariat about the important Cabinet decisions, Minister for Finance and Health T Harish Rao said that the GO which was brought to protect Hyderabad’s Osman Sagar and Himayat Sagar from pollution, has become an impediment to the development of many villages.

“With this decision, the same rules that apply to the lands under HMDA will be extended to these 84 villages,” Harish Rao said, adding that the city now had sufficient protected drinking water augmented by Godavari, Krishna, and Manjeera rivers. The Telangana Cabinet further decided to link Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Project’s Kondapochamma Sagar reservoir with Musi river and Gandipet and Himayat Sagar reservoirs to improve drinking water facilities in the fringes of the city.

The government would establish ring main besides STPs for the treatment of effluents and would expand the Shankarpalli and Chevella roads for smooth passage of traffic.

The Cabinet further decided to organise the decennial celebrations of the State formation day for 21 days in all district headquarters and towns in a grand manner. “The achievements of Telangana in the past nine years will be celebrated, one achievement a day for 21 days,” the minister said.

Also on the occasion of the decennial celebrations, the Telangana government would declare a policy to provide financial assistance of Rs 1 lakh each to beneficiaries from Viswa Brahmin, Nayi Brahmin, Razaka, Medari and Kummari and other communities. “The sub-committee created for this purpose will form the modalities so that the distribution of financial assistance to communities that eke out a living on ‘Kula Vruttulu’ could be completed during the celebrations,” he said.

Health Sector

The Cabinet has decided to grant DM&HO posts in all 33 districts and six posts in Hyderabad alone, taking the total number to 38. “While regularising the contract posts in urban primary health centres, 40 more primary health centres will be launched,” Harish Rao said.

Agriculture

The Cabinet decided to advance Kharif and Rabi seasons in the state by a month to avoid damage to crops from unseasonal gail and hail storms. Speaking about the menace of spurious seeds, Harish Rao said that the DGP was called for the Cabinet meeting where he was asked to take stern action against the dealers of spurious seeds in the state. “The police were directed to book cases under PD Act and arrest the culprits,” The minister added.

Revenue

Announcing good news for the Village Revenue Assistants (VRA), the minister said that their jobs would be regularised after discussing the details with the VRA association and the CCLA. The Cabinet also decided to release the second installment of funds under the Sheep Distribution Scheme in a fortnight.

The Cabinet also granted 10 more posts in the Telangana State Public Service Commission and added a member from the Jain community to the State Minority Commission, taking the total number to nine.