Andhra Cabinet gives nod to teacher recruitment, welfare pensions hike

Information and Public Relations Minister K Parthasarathy said the Cabinet gave an assurance to all sections of people that the state government would implement all the poll promises.

Amaravati: The first Cabinet meeting of the new TDP-led government in Andhra Pradesh, headed by Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu approved the recruitment of 16,347 teachers, abolition of the Land Titling Act and hiking of welfare pensions among other decisions on Monday.

Information and Public Relations (I & PR) Minister K Parthasarathy said the Cabinet gave an assurance to all sections of people that the state government would implement all the poll promises.

"First and foremost, the Cabinet approved the recruitment of 16,347 teachers posts through the District Selection Committee (DSC) recruitment," said Parthasarathy, addressing a press conference at the Secretariat.

Unlike the YSRCP government which did not recruit a single teacher in its five-year tenure, the Minister said the government which also includes Janasena and the BJP, will regularly conduct DSC exam to recruit teachers.

Also, he said the Cabinet had abolished the Land Titling Act introduced by the previous government as it was allegedly riddled with ambiguities and uncertainties.

The Cabinet gave its nod to hike monthly welfare pension from Rs 3,000 to Rs 4,000 to lakh of beneficiaries under 28 categories.

According to the Minister, pensions will be disbursed at the doorstep of 65.3 lakh beneficiaries on July 1, deploying village secretariat employees.

Parthasarathy observed that pensions were raised to eligible specially-abled persons from Rs 3,000 to Rs 6,000 per month, from Rs 5,000 to Rs 15,000 per month for differently-abled people and from Rs 5,000 to Rs 10,000 per month for patients suffering from chronic diseases.

He highlighted that Rs 7,000 will be disbursed on July 1, which includes the monthly welfare pension of Rs 4,000 and the Rs 1,000 each promised for the three months of April, May and June.

On July 1, the state will spend Rs 4,408 crore on welfare pensions, he said, adding that the annual expenditure on this scheme will rise from Rs 23,272 crore in the YSRCP regime to Rs 33,100 crore in the Naidu-led NDA government.

The Cabinet also approved a skills census programme by taking each family as a unit. Parthasarathy said the state will accord utmost importance for skills development to impart industry-ready skills.

The Cabinet renamed Vijayawada-based Dr YSR University of Health Sciences as NTR University of Health Sciences, reversing the decision taken by former Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy.

In the wake of the resignation of Advocate General S Sriram, the Cabinet approved the appointment of D Srinivas as the new Advocate General.

Aimed at cracking down on marijuana (ganja) in the state, Parthasarathy said the Cabinet has approved the constitution of a ministerial committee.

The panel which includes the Home Minister and others will deliberate and recommend measures to restrict the transport and sale of ganja.

Further, the Minister said the state government will release seven white papers on Polavaram project, Amaravati, land, sand, mines and other crucial topics to expose the alleged misdeeds of the YSRCP government.

Moreover, the Cabinet has also approved cleaning work in panchayats and municipalities, including repairing potholes on roads.