The Hindu Business Line : AP farm co-op societies to be revamped

"We are planning to evolve a PAC unit for every mandal. However, the unviable PACs are not going to be merged with viable ones," Mr Kanna Lakshminarayana, Minister for Cooperation, said.

The Government had identified 946 cooperatives as viable.

Briefing about the Cabinet decision to reporters, he said there would not by any retrenchment. There were about 11,000 employees working in PACs around the State.

"We need all of them as we need to collect dues to the tune of Rs 5,500 crore," he said.

Mr Mohammad Shabbir Ali, Minister for Information and Public Relations, said the State would go for indirect elections to municipalities and municipal corporations from now onwards. The State Cabinet has taken a decision in this regard. The urban civic bodies were likely to go for polls in August-September.

He said indirect elections would pave way for development of civic bodies. "It gives no scope for situations where municipal chiefs belonging one political party and members to the other. This leads to bickering and puts spokes in developmental plans," he said.

Besides panchayat raj organs, two-thirds of States followed the system of indirect elections to municipal bodies.

The Cabinet also approved the Government guarantee of Rs 1,131.76 crore as security for a loan assistance of Rs 3,772.45 crore under Rural Electrification Corporation for power utilities.

Of this, Rs 3,032.54 crore would be spent on seven high voltage distribution systems in as many districts in the first phase.

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