Andhrapradesh

Gali Janardhan Reddy’s remand extended till Dec 29

Hyderabad: The CBI Special Court on Thursday extended the judicial remand of former Karnataka minister Gali Janardhan Reddy, his brother-in-law BV Srinivas Reddy and former IAS officer VD Rajagopal, the key accused in the illegal mining case of the Obulapuram Mining Company (OMC), till December 29.

While Gali Janardhan Reddy and Srinivas Reddy were arrested on September 5, Rajagopal was arrested on November 14 by the Central Bureau of Investigation in the OMC illegal mining case registered on Dec 7, 2009.

Suspended IAS officer Y Srilakshmi and OMC Director B Rajasekhar have also been arrested in the case. Except Srilakshmi, who has been granted bail, all other accused are lodged in the Chanchalguda Central Prison.

The court on Thursday extended the custody after conducting the proceedings through video-conference from the Chanchalguda Central Prison. It was the sixth time that the prison officials produced the accused through video linkage.

CM Kiran Kumar aims to make AP a model State

Hyderabad: Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy has asked the District Collectors to maintain transparency in the implementation of government schemes in the State.

Addressing the two-day Collectors Conference which began here on Wednesday at the Jubilee Hall, the Chief Minister asked the district collectors to ensure that all the government schemes were implemented in a transparent manner, with no element of corruption.

He also asked the collectors to identify and rectify the lapses in the developmental and welfare programmes.

Lauding the services of District Collectors, the Chief Minister said that Andhra Pradesh has been striving hard to become the number one State in the country in the implementation of welfare programmes and the target could be achieved without the active participation of the District Collectors.

He asked them to formulate new schemes for the welfare of the people and assured that they would be approved by the government, depending upon their viability.

Kiran Kumar Reddy said that the government would tackle the drought situation with efficient planning and coordination with various departments.

He asked the district collectors to boost the confidence of farmers, especially in the drought-hit areas.

The Chief Minister also touched upon various issues concerned with the State. He admitted that the impact of general strike was still being felt in the State, especially in the power sector.

However, he hoped that the situation would improve soon. Regarding the Rs 1-a-kg rice scheme, he found fault with the media for checking the quality of rice through a magnifying glass.

Kiran Kumar Reddy announced that the government would complete 49 irrigation projects in the next three years. He was referring to the projects pending under the Jala Yagnam programme.

He also announced that the government would issue notification for the recruitment to 1.16 lakh posts by this month-end.

The Chief Minister said that the government has cleared the arrears of Rs 5261 crore towards the scholarship of nearly 27 lakh students in the State.

He said that the government will also set up 3,000 agro-centres in the State at a cost of Rs 2,500 crore.

He also emphasised on the need to improve the infrastructural facilities in the government hospitals. He said the government aims to increase the Arogyasri component in the government hospital from 27 per cent to 40 per cent.
Cabinet ministers, Chief Secretary Pankaj Dwivedi and other senior officials attended the programme.