White paper on State finances, two of 6 guarantees to be implemented from Sonia’s birthday Dec. 9

HYDERABAD: The State Cabinet has decided to release a white paper on the financial health of the State from the inception of the State till date. The Cabinet also decided to implement two guarantees on December 9, on the occasion of Sonia Gandhi’s birthday, and also to conduct the oath-taking ceremony of the newly elected MLAs on that date.

Addressing media after the maiden cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy and attended by all the 11 ministers sworn in on Thursday, Finance Minister D Sridhar Babu said that the entire cabinet expressed gratitude towards the people of Telangana for electing a Congress Government.

“We are determined to show change for all those people who want a change. The Cabinet discussed the Six guarantees in detail. In that regard the Cabinet sought details from all the wings of the Finance Department such as what the quantum of money was spent and how far it reached the people,” the Minister said.

Sridhar Babu said that the Cabinet as per the directions of Sonia Gandhi decided to discuss all the six guarantees in detail and start implementing two of the guarantees including free bus service for women from December 9. He said that a detailed discussion on the implementation of the two schemes would take place on Friday with the departments concerned. On Friday we will discuss

Elaborating on the issue of 24-hour power supply to agricultural, industrial, and household services, Sridhar Babu said that Chief Minister Revanth Reddy would have a meeting with the principal secretary and officials of that department to review its work.

“We found that there was no proper planning in the department. But we have to ensure that there are no interruptions to the power supply for five years. We also have to implement a 200-unit free power supply,” he added.

He said that on December 9, the Governor would appoint a Pro-tem Speaker who would in turn administer oath to the newly elected MLAs. The Cabinet also discussed crop damage to the cyclone that affected standing crops in the State. The Minister said that a Minister from Khammam district along with the agricultural department would prepare a report and submit it to the Government for action.