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The Andhra Pradesh Cabinet, which met at Amaravati on Wednesday, took several key decisions including the one to do away with the Andhra Pradesh Road Transport Corporation (APSRTC) and form a separate public transport department in the State.
Minister Perni Nani, who briefed the media after the Cabinet meet, said the State Government had formed a committee under the leadership of retired police official Anjaneya Reddy to go into the issue of merging APSRTC in the Government.
"The committee has given a favourable report and suggested some guidelines on how to go about it. The process will be completed in three months' time. APSRTC employees, numbering more than 50,000, will henceforth be treated as State Government employees and they will be subject to the same service rules. Accordingly, their retirement age will also be raised to 60," he explained.
New sand policy
Nani said the new sand policy of the State Government will come into force from Thursday. The Andhra Pradesh Mineral Development Corporation (APMDC) will take up sand mining, without any damage to the environment, and ensure that it is supplied to the public at a rate fixed by the Government. The rate has been fixed at Rs 375 per tonne and the transport charges will be Rs 4.90 per tonne per kilometre.
Further, the Cabinet approved the cancellation of the contract given to the Navayuga Engineering Company for Rs 3,216. 11 crores by the previous Telugu Desam Party Government for construction of the Polavaram hydel power project.
Fresh tenders would be called through the reverse tendering process. However, the issue is sub judice, as the Navayuga Company has moved the Andhra Pradesh High Court and obtained a stay order. The mobilisation advance given to the company would also be recovered.
The State Cabinet also approved the cancellation of contract given to the Machilipatnam Port Private Limited and the decision to take back 412.5 acres of land given to the company in the vicinity of the port town, which is the headquarters of Krishna district. The company had not started the work on the project and it was also not paying the lease amount, it was stated.
Andhra Bank
The Cabinet also discussed the issue of the proposed merger of Andhra Bank with other banks to create a bigger bank. "We have decided that Chief Minister Y S Jaganmohan Reddy will write a letter to the Prime Minister requesting him to retain the name as Andhra Bank, as the bank founded in the pre-independence era by freedom-fighter from the State, Dr Bhogaraju Pattabhi Sitaramayya, at Machilipatnam in Krishna district. Andhras have strong feelings about the bank and those sentiments should be respected, and at least the name of the bank should be retained," he said.
Other provisions
The Cabinet also approved the decisions to hike the salaries of ASHA (community health) workers from Rs 3,000 per month to Rs 10,000 per month. The decision to extend the ban on Maoist extremists by one more year was also approved.
Cash incentives would be given sportspersons from the state who excel at the national and international levels, winning medals. Several other welfare schemes of the new Government were also approved by the Cabinet.
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