Cabinet Ends 2-child Rule for Local Body Polls
The decision was taken at the Cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy at the Secretariat.
Hyderabad:The State Cabinet on Thursday approved an ordinance to amend the Telangana Panchayat Raj Act, 2018, to lift the two-child norm that disqualifies individuals with more than two children from contesting local body elections. The decision was taken at the Cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy at the Secretariat.
The Cabinet resolved to wait for the Telangana High Court’s verdict on the petitions challenging the 42 per cent reservations for the Backward Classes communities in local bodies — scheduled on November 3 — before taking a final call on conducting the elections and deciding the quantum of BC reservation.
Information and public relations minister Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy, briefing the media on the Cabinet decisions at Secretariat, said the government would act in accordance with legal advice and the directions of the High Court and the Supreme Court. Accordingly, the Cabinet decided to meet again on November 7 to take a final decision on BC reservations and local body polls after the court’s ruling.
To remove the two-child restriction, the Cabinet approved the deletion of Section 21(3) of the Telangana Panchayat Raj Act, 2018. As the Assembly has been prorogued, the amendment will be carried out through an ordinance with the Governor’s approval. The file proposing the ordinance will be sent to the Governor for assent.
Among other major decisions, the Cabinet approved the restoration and completion of the Srisailam Left Bank Canal (SLBC) Tunnel — the longest in the world — which aims to provide irrigation to 3.5 lakh acres and drinking water to fluoride-affected areas in the erstwhile Nalgonda district. The government decided to resume the remaining tunnel works using advanced drilling technologies instead of traditional tunnel boring machines. The existing contractor, who agreed to complete the remaining works within the estimated cost, will be allowed to continue.
So far, 35 km of the 44 km tunnel has been completed. Work was halted after a tragic accident in February. The Cabinet directed that the remaining 9 km of tunnelling be completed using environmentally safe, high-precision drilling methods without affecting forests or wildlife. The project is targeted for completion by 2026-end or early-2027.
The Cabinet also reviewed the status of ongoing super-specialty hospitals in Hyderabad and Warangal and instructed officials to expedite the works. These include the Warangal Super Specialty Hospital and the Telangana Institute of Medical Sciences (Tims) facilities in Hyderabad at LB Nagar, Sanathnagar, and Alwal.
In a move to strengthen the power sector, the Cabinet gave in-principle approval for setting up 1,500 MW of battery energy storage units in the state. The electricity department was directed to identify suitable locations and prepare an implementation plan.
Further, the Cabinet approved dismantling the 52-year-old Ramagundam Thermal Power Station (RTS-B), a 62.5 MW unit that has reached the end of its operational life. The energy department was asked to formulate a long-term strategy for meeting the state’s future power needs and plan new generation capacities based on demand projections for the next decade.
