Special status to Seemandhra
New Delhi: The Union cabinet on Sunday directed the Planning Commission to grant special category status to residuary Andhra Pradesh, popularly known as Seemandhra, for a period of five years.
This is in tune with the assurance given by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh at the time of passage of Telangana bill in Rajya Sabha on February 20.Union minister Jairam Ramesh who briefed the media later said that the decision to accord special category status to Seemandhra was a promise made by the UPA to people of the region.
The Cabinet also decided to transfer certain villages which would face submergence under the Polavaram irrigation project across Godavari river. Union Cabinet skips anti-graft ordinances, gives quota to Jats
However, temple town Bhadrachalam will remain with Telangana.In another decision the Cabient, chaired by the Prime Minister, allocated 15 per cent unallocated surplus power from the central electricity stations to both Telangana and Seemandhra based on the average consumption in the last five years.
Replying to queries, Ramesh said rest of the assurances won't require any Cabinet approval.Asked about holding Assembly elections in Andhra Pradesh, the minister said that it would be decided by the Election Commission as it was the competent authority.
The Union Cabinet on Sunday rejected the ordinance route for anti-corruption bills pushed by Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi while clearing reservation for the Jat community.
The anti-graft bills were being seen as Congress's last-ditch efforts to reclaim the anti-corruption plank, seen to be appropriated by Arvind Kejriwal's Aam Aadmi Party and Narendra Modi's BJP in the run-up to national elections due by May.
The Cabinet decision on Jats gives the community reservation in Central government jobs and educational institutions, a demand that came from nine states - Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Uttarakhand and Bihar.
The Cabinet decisions came after hectic consultation between the top UPA ministers and Congress leaders during the weekend. AK Antony, Sushil Kumar Shinde and Ahmed Patel met PM Manmohan Singh at his residence before the meeting.
News Posted: 3 March, 2014
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