The Cabinet on Saturday approved 50% reservation for women in the elected body of Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporations ahead of polls.
Effectively, 75 out of 150 divisions in GHMC will be reserved for women. A Bill amending the GHMC Act to the effect will be taken up by the Assembly on Tuesday.
By other decisions, the Cabinet also decided to amend laws to provide for changes in the functions of municipal ward committees and reservation of wards. The deadline for online uploading of information about landed properties has been extended by 10 days up to October 20.
The Cabinet meeting, presided by Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao, also discussed the character of integrated township in Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority limits.
It was decided at the meeting to simplify the conversion of agricultural land for non-agricultural use by amending the NALA law on non-agricultural lands. The amendment will be made to enable people make the necessary changes online through Dharani portal.
The move was an extension of the amendment to the revenue law of State government removing the discretionary powers of officers to regulate conversion of agricultural land for non-agricultural use. The human intervention was already removed in the Act passed in the last session of Assembly.
A release said the Cabinet discussed in detail the steps taken by government to see that the farmers did not face hardship on account of COVID. Just as agricultural produce was procured in villages instead of market yards in the kharif, the same system will be followed in rabi as the virus had not receded. As many as 6,000 centres will be opened in villages to procure produce from the last farmer. There was no need for farmers to panic but they must ensure that the moisture content in foodgrains did not exceed 17 %. The grains must be dust free.
The Cabinet expressed anguish at the inability of maize farmers to get minimum support price due to the decisions of the Centre. It was unfortunate that the decisions spelt danger to agriculture sector. The meeting also noted with despair the decision of Centre to import maize from other countries in spite of the availability of maize in quantities more than consumption levels.
The meeting appealed to maize farmers to take a guarded decision on cultivation of the crop keeping in view the glut in global market and the Centre’s decisions.