E-Paper
Telangana to hold local body polls before Sep 30
The cabinet also decided to nominate former Indian cricket captain and ex-parliamentarian Mohammad Azharuddin and former Osmania University professor M Kodandaram as members of the legislative council (MLCs) under the Governor’s quota
The Telangana cabinet chaired by chief minister A Revanth Reddy on Saturday decided to conduct local body elections in the state before September 30, by providing 42% reservation to other backward classes (OBCs), state backward classes minister Ponnam Prabhakar said.
The cabinet also decided to nominate former Indian cricket captain and ex-parliamentarian Mohammad Azharuddin and former Osmania University professor M Kodandaram as members of the legislative council (MLCs) under the Governor’s quota.
Azharuddin replaces Ammer Ali Khan, who was earlier nominated as the MLC along with Kodandaram, but the Supreme Court on August 13 cancelled their nominations on technical grounds.
After the cabinet meeting, Prabhakar said the state cabinet had decided to introduce a legislation in the assembly amending the Panchayat Raj Act, 2018 and the Municipalities Act, 2018, seeking to remove the ceiling of 50% on reservations.
The legislation seeks to replace the draft ordinances which were approved by the state cabinet on July 10 and was sent to the governor on July 14 for his assent. “However, the governor has not yet given assent to the ordinance. So, we are planning to introduce a bill replacing the ordinance. It will be discussed in the Assembly on Sunday to seek suggestions from all parties,” the minister said.
He said considering the Telangana high court’s orders to conduct the local body elections before September 30 and other factors, the cabinet decided to go ahead with the polls by providing 42% reservation.
The cabinet meeting also reviewed the flood situation in Kamareddy and Medak districts, where heavy rains caused severe damage to crops, property and roads. “We have asked the officials to assess the losses, and a high-level meeting on flood damage will be held on September 1,” he said.
Other key decisions of the cabinet included discussions on the cow shed policy, approval for the National Hydrology Project, appointment of in-charges for fisheries cooperative societies, and action on millers who have failed to return 7 lakh metric tonnes of Rabi grain given in 2022-23.
The government warned that the PD Act would be invoked against defaulting millers.
