Hyderabad: In a move that will bring relief to students from Telangana planning to pursue higher studies abroad, the State Cabinet on Sunday decided to accommodate these students in priority groups and administer them vaccine based on their admission letter.
The Medical and Health Department was instructed by the Cabinet that met under the chairmanship of Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao at Pragathi Bhavan, to finalise the modalities for this exercise. It was also decided to extend the existing reservations for the BCs by another 10 years.
Part of Necklace Road to be named PVNR Marg
To mark the conclusion of the birth centenary celebrations of former Prime Minister late PV Narasimha Rao, the Cabinet approved to rename the 5.5-km stretch of Necklace Road as PV Narasimha Rao (PVNR) Marg.
In the wake of the pandemic, it was also decided to organise the Telangana Formation Day celebrations in a low-key affair by strictly following the Covid-19 guidelines with Ministers paying tributes to martyrs and unfurling the national flag in their respective districts.
The State Cabinet also directed the officials concerned to curb the sale of spurious seed, fertilisers and pesticides ahead of the commencement of the Vaanakalam crop season. They were advised to make necessary arrangements in advance and keep stocks available for farmers. The Cabinet also discussed the steps to be taken to mobilise revenue lost by the State due to the pandemic during the current fiscal. Chief Secretary Somesh Kumar was asked to take immediate action for the sale of government lands and also houses under the possession of the State Housing Corporation.
Food processing units
The State government will establish nine to ten clusters for food processing units across the State. Accordingly, the State Cabinet on Sunday instructed the officials concerned to identify necessary lands. The officials were also directed to create awareness among farmers on modern cultivation methods for paddy and cotton crops. The Cabinet called on the farmers to adopt the seed sprinkling method for paddy crop to increase their crop yield, instead of the traditional practice of sowing seeds.
Rythu Bandhu Samithis
The State Cabinet directed the officials of the Agriculture department as well as the Rythu Bandhu Samithis to work in coordination and organise training as well as awareness programmes in new farming methods for farmers. The District Agriculture Officers were asked to supervise the departmental operations in the AEO clusters and ensure that they interact with farmers frequently. The officials will also take appropriate measures to establish more rice mills across the State in the wake of increasing paddy yield. Further, the State Cabinet expressed dissatisfaction over the Centre’s step-motherly treatment towards Telangana State by not procuring the entire paddy crop and decided to write a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking his intervention in this regard.
Paddy procurement
The State Cabinet expressed happiness over purchase of about 87 per cent of the paddy yield from farmers during the ongoing procurement in the State. The Telangana State Civil Supplies Corporation was instructed to expedite the process of paddy procurement and complete it within next four-five days. Considering the decline in demand for rice in the neighbouring States, the Cabinet has strongly recommended for encouraging cultivation of cotton and red gram which have a huge demand in the market.
The Cabinet also approved the State government’s decision to provide Rythu Bandhu financial assistance from June 15 to 25 and deposit the amount directly into the bank accounts of farmers as was done earlier. The officials Revenue and Agriculture department were instructed to update the records of land whose issues have been sorted out and are being moved from Part-B category to Part-A category. The agriculture officials were asked to focus on increasing the soil fertility for better yield.
During the discussion on the preparations for the ensuing Vaanakalam crop season, the Cabinet expressed happiness over the State recording 3 crore tonnes of paddy production for two crop seasons last year. The Cabinet instructed the officials concerned to ensure the supply of quality seeds, fertilisers and pesticides as required by farmers. Besides instructing the Agriculture, Police and Intelligence departments to initiate stringent action against those manufacturing and selling spurious seeds, fertilisers and pesticides, the Cabinet approved sanction of two Additional Director posts in the department to meet the increasing farm operations in the State.