January, an eventful month
New districts proposal in Ap is major of all
Amaravati, Jan 31: The New Year 2022 began with Sankranti festivities, Covid spurt, welfare schemes, new districts proposal besides Chief Minister visiting New Delhi and writing to Prime Minister on issues of State interests .
The month had seen the disbursal of enhanced pensions under YSR Pension Kanuka, followed by the launch of welfare schemes, infra projects, and key decisions like increasing the number of districts to 26 and hiking the retirement age to 62 years.
Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and discussed several issues related to the State, especially on releasing State revenue deficit pending arrears, funds for Polavaram project and the like. He also called on several Union Ministers during the visit.
Taking a major step towards development, the Chief Minister emphasized on one district-one airport concept by developing the existing airports with expansion works and constructing the new airports for an all-round growth by boosting the infrastructure in the districts.
To provide better administration, government has taken a decision for creation of 13 new districts, where a preliminary notification was issued. With this, the total number of districts will go up to 26 and the process is likely to be completed by Ugadi.
During the month, Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy wrote a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the amendment of All India Service rules, stressing that the state government should have the option of deciding which officer should be sent on central deputation, as it can assess better. He also participated in the Republic Day function.
On the Covid front, as the month witnessed a surge in Covid cases due to the Omicron variant, the State government imposed a night curfew from 11 pm to 5 am and the Chief Minister had written a letter to the Prime Minister appealing to reduce the gap for administering the precautionary dose of the Covid-19 vaccine from nine months to six months, as it would benefit frontline workers and those who provide emergency services. To effectively contain the virus, the Chief Minister had inaugurated 144 PSA oxygen plants that were setup in various government hospitals across 13 districts.
During the month, layouts under Jagananna Smart Townships were launched, where people with income upto Rs 18 lakh per annum get access to buy residential plots at reasonable prices. For government employees, 10 percent of the plots in MIG layouts of Jagananna Smart Townships will be reserved besides a rebate of 20 percent. Enhancement of social pensions under YSR Pension Kanuka was done by increasing the existing amount to Rs 2500 every month.
On the welfare front, to benefit the economically backward women of upper castes, the State government launched EBC Nestam by providing financial assistance of Rs 15,000 per annum to those women between 45-60 years. Also, the third tranche of YSR Rythu Bharosa was credited into the accounts of 50.58 lakh farmers. In order to deliver better services to the public, AP Seva Portal 2.0 was launched, where all the officials right to the secretary level will be using this digital platform in resolving the public redressals.
In the month, Jagananna Palavelluva- AP Amul Project was launched in Anantapur district, and further the government signed two MoUs with Amul for purchase of milk for Balamrutham and Anganwadi kids.
In the Cabinet meeting, several key issues were discussed which include providing jobs on compassionate grounds for those in the families of government employees who lost their lives due to Covid, increasing the government employees retirement age to 62 years and many others. It gave nod to the agreement with Indigo Airlines for operating flights from Kadapa and Kurnool airports, four services a week starting from March 27. For establishing a Badminton Academy, the government allocated five acres of land in Tirupati to badminton player Kidambi Srikanth.
Ushering in the festive spirit of Sankranti, Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy along with his wife YS Bharathi Reddy participated in Sankranti celebrations. During the month, the Chief Minister had inaugurated ITC group’s Welcomhotel in Guntur.
Swatmanandendra Saraswathi from Sarada Peetam called on Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy and invited for an Annual Ceremony of Visakha Sri Sharada Peetam which will be held from February 7 -11. Andhra Organics donated Rs 1 crore to Disaster Management Authority for Covid containment and Pokarna group contributed Rs 1 crore to the State government’s novel initiative Nadu-Nedu. Film actor Chiranjeevi had paid a courtesy visit to the Chief Minister. Also, members of Arya Vysya Sangham met the Chief Minister and thanked him for banning Chintamani padya natakam.
