Cabinet to meet at 2 pm today

A crucial session of the Telangana State Cabinet, scheduled for Tuesday, is expected to take a slew of important decisions, some of them with far-reaching impact on the State.

With the model code of conduct being in place for nearly six months in the State after the Assembly elections on account of several other polls, including the Lok Sabha elections, it meant that the government could not go ahead with many of the decisions that it wanted to implement in the interim. The Cabinet, set to meet at 2 pm at Pragati Bhavan, is expected to take stock of several issues, including deciding the dates for the Budget session of the Legislative Assembly. It is also expected to discuss some broad outlines of the budget.

Also on the agenda, according to sources, are proposals for introduction of a new Municipal Act aimed at delivering transparent services to the people. The new legislation is likely to be introduced in the Budget session of the Assembly. It is also learnt that the Cabinet may discuss providing some relief to people living in urban areas in terms of property tax and pending water supply bills.

With the government intent on cleaning up land administration system in the



State, it is expected that the Cabinet will also discuss in detail a proposed new Revenue Act that will make provision of conclusive title rights to legitimate land owners. The proposed Act is aimed at comprehensively cleaning up the system and is expected to have far-reaching impact in terms of reducing litigation over land ownership and transfer of rights of property down the line. Also on the cards, the sources said, is a discussion on revamping the Revenue Department that has been mired in controversies, particularly with reference to land administration.

The Cabinet is also likely to take a decision on introducing new laws on road safety in view of the unabated accidents resulting in avoidable deaths and injuries to people. Some very strict punishments with deterrent penalties and fines for violation of road safety rules are expected to be included in the proposed law.

Also, the Cabinet is expected to approve the proposal for construction of a new Secretariat complex in place of the existing one in the city. Among the other topics that the Cabinet is likely to discuss are implementing Pay Revision Commission proposals and DA hike for government staff.