Hyderabad: After officially inaugurating the Telangana Secretariat complex on April 30, Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao will put his first signature on the files extending the Gruha Laxmi housing scheme and the second phase of the Dalit Bandhu, while the migration of various departments from BRKR Bhavan to the new building begins on April 24.
The Chief Minister will inaugurate the Secretariat on April 30 after performing 'yagam' and special pujas, and occupy his office at the top level on the sixth floor. The BRKR Bhavan will cease to function as the temporary Secretariat the next week.
According to party insiders, in addition to signing files extending the Gruha Laxmi scheme and the Dalit Bandhu second phase, the CM is expected to sign crucial files such as sheep distribution schemes and pattas for podu lands to beneficiaries shortly after resuming work from the Secretariat on Day-1, as well as making an announcement on the setting up of a new Pay Revision Commission (PRC) to revise salaries and pensions for state government employees and pensioners.
The Gruha Laxmi scheme will be extended to four lakh beneficiaries who own plots who would each receive '3 lakh to construct houses, while the Dalit Bandhu scheme will be expanded to 1.3 lakh beneficiaries who will each receive '10 lakh. Pattas for podu lands will be delivered to 1.55 lakh beneficiaries, while sheep will be distributed to 3.5 lakh beneficiaries.
After deciding to demolish the old Secretariat and build a new Integrated Secretariat Complex in its stead, the government relocated several departments to BRKR Bhavan in August 2019. The old structure was demolished in July 2020.
After nearly six years, the CM will resume duties from the Secretariat. The last time the CM worked from the Secretariat was in March of 2016. After taking over as CM in June 2014, the CM rarely visited the old Secretariat.
After he moved to the newly-constructed Pragathi Bhavan, the CM's official residence-cum-camp office in Begumpet, in November 2016, he never visited the old Secretariat, which was subsequently demolished in July 2020.
The tenure of the existing PRC will end in June this year. After the formation of the Telangana state in June 2014, the CM constituted Telangana's first PRC in May 2018. However, it took almost three years for the commission to submit the report, the state government holding negotiations with employees’ unions and finally the CM announcing 30 per cent fitment (hike in basic pay) in March 2021.
It has been the tradition for the state governments in undivided Andhra Pradesh to constitute a new PRC once in five years which the BRS government also followed after the formation of Telangana state in 2014.
