Key Telangana Cabinet meeting: Will justice be done for BCs?

HYDERABAD: The state Cabinet, chaired by Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy, on Thursday decided to take up the issues of Backward Class (BC) reservations and local body elections after the High Court hearing on November 3.

The Cabinet will meet again on November 7 to take final decisions on the reservation policy and the conduct of elections, subject to the court’s verdict.

The meeting, which lasted nearly four hours, saw several key decisions being taken. It is learnt that the Council of Ministers also met separately after the Cabinet meeting to discuss the Jubilee Hills byelection.

Revenue Minister Ponguleti Srinivasa Reddy announced the Cabinet decisions at a press conference held at the Secretariat, along with Ministers Jupally Krishna Rao, Konda Surekha, Vakiti Srihari and Ponnam Prabhakar.

As expected, the Cabinet approved the removal of the two-child norm for contesting local body elections and decided to delete Section 21(3) of the Telangana Panchayat Raj Act, 2018. Since the Assembly is prorogued, the amendment will be issued through an Ordinance with the Governor’s approval, Srinivasa Reddy said.
SLBC works to resume, set for 2028 completion

The Cabinet also cleared the resumption of work on the Srisailam Left Bank Canal (SLBC) tunnel — one of the world’s longest irrigation tunnels — using advanced drilling technology.

Of the total 44 km, about 35 km have already been excavated. The remaining 9 km will be completed with minimal impact on forests and wildlife, with the project scheduled for completion by June 2028.

“The same agency that had been executing the work will continue the tunnelling process, replacing the Tunnel Boring Machine method with the latest technology, without additional financial burden on the government,” Srinivas Reddy said.

The Cabinet also directed officials to expedite the completion of super-speciality hospitals at Warangal, LB Nagar (TIMS), Sanathnagar (TIMS), and Alwal (TIMS). It approved in-principle proposals for establishing 1,500 MW of battery energy storage units and authorised the Energy department to identify suitable locations.

“The Energy department has been asked to prepare a 10-year comprehensive plan for solar power, battery storage systems, river pumping, and other available energy resources for the next Cabinet meeting,” Srinivas Reddy said.

The Cabinet further sanctioned the decommissioning of the 62.5 MW Ramagundam Thermal Station (RTS-B), which has completed its operational life, and directed the Energy department to draw up a long-term plan to meet the state’s electricity needs over the next decade.

Decision making

Final decision on BC reservations and local body polls to be taken after HC hearing on November 3

Two-child norm scrapped

Resumption of SLBC tunnel works; completion target set for June 2028.

Orders to expedite completion of TIMS units at Warangal,

LB Nagar, Sanathnagar, and Alwal.

In-principle approval for a 1,500 MW units battery storage project

62.5 MW RTS-B unit of the Ramagundam Thermal Station to be decommissioned