Telangana Assembly passes 12 resolutions on the last day

The first session of the Telangana State Legislative Assembly concluded on Saturday with the passing of 12 different resolutions moved by Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao.

While the first two resolutions paying tributes to Telangana martyrs and those killed in Beas River tragedy were presented and unanimously passed in the morning session, 10 other resolutions were passed in the concluding session.

The House passed a resolution seeking special category status for nine out of 10 districts of Telangana. The Chief Minister contended that nearly 85% of the SC, ST, BC and minority communities living in all districts of Telangana, except Hyderabad, were backward and therefore, he requested the Centre to grant special status to each of these nine districts.

The Telangana Assembly also passed a unanimous resolution asking the Centre to withdraw the ordinance issued on Polavaram Dam issue facilitating merger of seven mandals into residuary State of Andhra Pradesh. It also demanded change in the design of Polavaram Project.

In another resolution, the Telangana Assembly sought Income Tax exemption for Singareni Collieries Company Limited. The Chief Minister said that the SCCL provides employment to nearly 62,000 people and caters to about 500 different companies in States including Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra among others. Therefore, it should be given tax exemptions.

The Telangana Assembly also demanded the Centre to create a separate High Court for Telangana State. It also passed a resolution asking the Centre to implement 33% reservation for women by increase the seats in legislative bodies and other institutions, if required. The Assembly also asked the Centre to create a separate ministry for the welfare of Backward Classes.

The Chief Minister also requested the Centre to provide 33% reservation to OBCs who constitute nearly 50% of the total population. Through a separate resolution, he requested Speaker Madhusudana Chary to take suitable action against a private television news channel for allegedly making derogatory remarks against Telangana legislatures in one of its broadcast.

KCR also announced a reward of Rs 25 lakh each to Malavath Purna and Sadhanapalli Anand Kumar, the two youngsters who scaled the Mount Everest. Further, he said three acres of developed land would be given to the youngsters and one house will also be provided to them. He also announced a reward of Rs 25 lakh to their coach Sekhar Babu.

He also announced that the Secretary of Telangana Legislative Assembly would be given the status of Chief Secretary on par with the Parliament Secretary who enjoys the rank of Cabinet Secretary.