Kiran won’t wait for Telangana Bill

Hyderabad: Chief Minister N. Kiran Kumar Reddy informed the state Cabinet that the Winter Session of the state Assembly would commence from December 12.

The customary session would last for 10 days and might be reconvened if the Centre failed to finalise the draft Telangana Bill and send it to the Assembly before the third week of December.
The Chief Miniser said that the Assembly would discuss and send its views on the Telangana Bill if it was sent during the regular session.

“Otherwise we may have to convene a special session,” he pointed out. The marathon Cabinet meet, which was loaded with official agenda of about 50 items, went off smoothly and contrary to the public posture adopted by some Telangana ministers, every item was approved without any objection.

The ministers, including the Chief Minister’s bête noire, Deputy Chief Minister Damodar Raja Narasimha, kept quiet throughout the meeting. The Chief Minister also successfully got the Cabinet’s ratification for the controversial Rs 4,300 crore Chittoor drinking water project.

Except for the request of endowments minister C. Ramachandraiah to announce a similar scheme for Kadapa, there was no discussion at all.

The Telangana ministers did not raise their voice even on other controversial issues like attempt to prorogue the Assembly and the state government submitting an official report which, according to them, opposed bifurcation.

The panchayat raj minister, who had earlier openly questioned the chief secretary sending the report without the Cabinet’s approval, did not raise it in the Cabinet meeting, sources said.

Next: Kiran gets Cabinet nod for schemes

Kiran gets Cabinet nod for schemes

Hyderabad: Chief Minister N. Kiran Kumar Reddy got the Cabinet’s approval for several populist initiatives like increasing the creamy layer for BCs from Rs 4.5 lakh per annum to Rs 6 lakh, sanction of Rs 65 lakh to carry out a survey relating to the proposal of including Kapus in BC, increasing the loan limit for weaker section housing, ratification of creation of 11,000 jobs and paying pension of Rs 200 each per month for people with disabilities of 20-40 per cent.

The Centre had earlier restricted the pension to people with more than 40 per cent disability. Irrigation officials gave a detailed presentation on the Brajesh Kumar Tribunal award to the Cabinet which asked the Chief Minister to convene an all-party meeting soon and take steps to pursue the pending case in Supreme Court.

The Chief Minister, meanwhile, dismissed allegations that the state had not engaged efficient advocates stating that Harish Salve and Parasaran had been representing the state in the Supreme Court.

When tourism minister Vatti Vasanth Kumar explained in detail the severe hardships being faced by farmers in coastal districts due to successive cyclones, the Chief Minister assured to provide adequate relief.