PNS|Vijayawada
The State Cabinet, led by Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, made significant decisions that will benefit various sections of society during its meeting on Wednesday.
In a major move concerning assigned lands and low-lying lands, the State Cabinet decided to grant full rights to all original assigned landowners who have possessed the lands for 20 years. In case the original beneficiaries are deceased, their legal heirs will inherit the full rights. This decision will benefit 66,111 individuals who currently control 63,191.84 acres of assigned lands.
During the three-and-a-half-hour meeting, the State Cabinet approved the investment proposals previously endorsed by the State Investment Promotion Board.
The Cabinet also finalised the welfare calendar for July, including the initiation of the construction of 47,000 houses for the underprivileged in the CRDA region. The Bhoomi Puja (ground-breaking ceremony) for this project, covering 1366 acres of R-5 zone, will take place on July 24. The estimated expenditure for this initiative is Rs. 5000 crore.
Additionally, the Cabinet decided to release funds for various welfare programmes in July, including ‘Jagananna Thodu’ on July 18, ‘Nethanna Nestham’ on July 22, ‘Sunna Vaddi’ on July 26, and ‘Videshi Vidya Deevena’ on July 28.
Other decisions made by the Cabinet include permitting the construction of burial grounds for SCs in 1966 revenue villages, removing Inam lands from the prohibited list of Section 22-A, waiving loans given to dalits for land purchases made before the state’s bifurcation, and filling vacancies in medical colleges and hospitals.
The Cabinet has also decided to distribute 54,129.45 acres of assigned lands to 46,935 poor farmers. This is the first time that the State government has taken the decision to distribute assigned lands after the regime of former Chief Minister Dr YS Rajasekhara Reddy.
It has also approved a proposal to establish skill development institutes in all 175 constituencies and in all 26 districts under the supervision of a Skill Development University to be established. The youth will be trained in all latest skills so that they would be able to get jobs in the changing modern society.
The Cabinet has approved a proposal to fill 27 non-teaching posts in JNTU, Kakinada, and fill the existing nine vacancies in SCERT besides sanctioning 30 posts to the State Human Rights Commission.
It has also decided to extend the viability gap funding facility to Indigo which is running flights between Chennai, Visakhapatnam, Bangalore, Vijayawada and Kadapa.
The Cabinet has decided to change the rules made on allotment of house sites to Government employees and journalists in Machilipatnam and Gudivada between 1970 and 1980.
It has also approved a proposal to allot 352.79 acres of land to APIIC for industrial purposes.
The retirement age of professors working in educational institutions such as JNTU has been increased from 62 to 65 to address the scarcity of faculty. The retirement age for Endowment Department staff has also been raised from 60 to 62. The Cabinet also granted permission for temple Arachakas (priests) to continue their service without retirement.
Regarding the Visakhapatnam land scam, the Cabinet decided to order a fresh probe for 18 registered cases while accepting the reports for 43 cases.
Furthermore, the Cabinet agreed to fill vacancies in the newly created Tadepalligudem revenue division and in other Deputy Collector posts across the State.
The Cabinet also ratified a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed with the US educational agency ETS. This agreement aims to provide TOEFL certification training to students in grades 3 to 10 and extend the scheme to intermediate students.
Lastly, the Cabinet authorised the AP Maritime Board to raise necessary loans for port development and sanctioned Rs 454 crore for the Rehabilitation and Resettlement (R&R) package benefiting 10,231 Project Affected Families (PAFs) and Project Displaced Families under phases 2 and 3 of the Gandikota Reservoir Project.
During the meeting, Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy expressed satisfaction with the Jagananna Suraksha initiative, which is delivering positive outcomes and providing necessary certificates to individuals at village Secretariats.
