Hyderabad: Telangana BC welfare minister Ponnam Prabhakar has announced that the state government will conduct local body elections by implementing 42 percent reservations for Backward Classes (BC), a decision which has been taken during the cabinet meeting held on Saturday, August 30.
To enable it, he said the 50 percent cap on reservations in the Telangana Municipal Laws (Amendment) Act of 2018, and the Telangana Panchayat Raj Act of 2018 will be removed by making amendments to these laws.
Addressing media persons at Dr BR Ambedkar Telangana State Secretariat on Saturday, Ponnam said that a discussion will be held in the present Assembly session, where the amended bills will be enacted into legislations, for implementing 42 percent reservations for BCs in the local body elections.
Pointing out that an ordinance to that effect was already passed in the previous assembly session and sent to state Governor Jishnu Dev Verma, who had sent it to the President’s approval, the Telangana BC minister said that it was part of the process to pass the bill after an ordinance was passed.
He said that after consulting legal experts and taking opinions from all political parties, it was decided to go for the elections with 42 percent reservations for BCs, and the reservations to SCs as per the 2011 population census.
When media representatives questioned about any possible legal complications that could arise, he got irritated and downplayed those apprehensions.
Action against defaulting rice millers
Revenue minister Ponguleti Srinivasa Reddy said that the cabinet has taken the decision to recover money from rice millers who failed to deliver 7 lakh tonne rice for Rabi 2022-23 marketing season to the government.
He said that as per the tender bids and the price quoted by the rice millers on milling and delivering rice (different price for coarse and fine grain varieties), the amount will be recovered. He said that the state government will be invoking the Preventive Detention (PD) Act against the defaulting rice millers.
Damages due to floods
Reddy said that a high-level meeting will be conducted at 4 pm on Monday, where the officials will be asked to present the damages to national highways, and the roads belonging to the panchayat raj, roads and buildings departments, where sanctions will also be given to restore them.
National Hydrology Project
In the wake of floods which have been affecting various parts of Telangana this monsoon, the cabinet has decided to take the support from the Centre under the National Hydrology Project, to secure hydrology equipment which will help in measuring and estimating the flow of water into various irrigation projects.
Gaushala Welfare Board
The cabinet also discussed various aspects of forming the Gaushala Welfare Board, and on the implementation of the Gaushala welfare project. Seeking financial support through Corporate social Responsibility (CSR) funds was deliberated upon.
Elections to Fisheries’ Cooperative Societies
The state cabinet has also approved nominating certain members as personal in-charges to the fisheries’ cooperative societies in the state, in view of the elections to be conducted in these societies.
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Governor quota MLCs
The cabinet has also decided to nominate Professor M Kodandaram and Mohd Azharuddin as the MLCs under the governor’s quota.
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