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Hyderabad: Telangana cabinet has approved the takeover of Hyderabad Metro Rail from Larsen & Toubro (L&T) and to expedite the execution of second phase of Metro expansion.
In a meeting held at Telangana Secretariat on Thursday, the cabinet also cleared a slew of other initiatives including abolishing the two-child norm for Telangana local body polls and doubling reservations for Telangana locals in admissions to Nalsar University of Law in Hyderabad.
The cabinet ministers held an extensive discussion on the issue of taking over the first phase of Metro to speed up the expansion process of Metro phase 2A and 2B. The HMRL is currently being run in a Public Private Partnership mode.
A high-level committee chaired by top officials from MAUD, Metro Rail, Finance, law and urban transport will study the feasibility of the takeover. Before a final decision is made, the committee’s recommendations will guide the cabinet sub-committee on resource mobilisation.
Two-child norm eliminated for local body polls:
The cabinet also eliminated the rule which barred people with more than two children from contesting as MPTCs and ZPTCs and sarpanches and ward members.
Minister Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy said that the decision to eliminate the rule was taken after multiple representations, and stated that population control measures are already in place.
Paddy procurement and farmers’ bonus:
The Civil Supplies Department estimates that 80 lakh metric tonnes of the paddy produced in the state will reach the procurement centres.
The Central Government has agreed to procure 50 lakh metric tonnes. However, the cabinet has decided to request the Central Government to procure another 15 or 20 lakh metric tonnes.
A bonus of Rs. 500 per quintal will be deposited into the accounts of farmers, in addition to the minimum support price paid for paddy.
The cabinet has approved the establishment of three new agricultural colleges in the state in Huzurnagar, Kodangal and Nizamabad.
