People anticipated clear decisions on local body elections and BC reservations in Thursday’s state cabinet meeting. The meeting, held at the Secretariat, was chaired by Chief Minister Revanth . The cabinet decided to postpone action on local body elections until the High Court hears the petition. The hearing is scheduled for the 3rd of next month. The cabinet decided to reconvene for another meeting on the 7th of next month.
The government decided to move forward by following the advice and suggestions of legal experts. The government believes it is better to decide on BC reservations and local body elections after upcoming by-elections. However, the cabinet decided to lift the two-child rule for contesting in local body elections.
After the cabinet meeting, CM Revanth Reddy discussed the Jubilee Hills by-election strategies with the ministers for over an hour. The Chief Minister directed all the ministers to participate in ensuring a sure win in the Jubilee Hills by-election. Minister Konda Surekha, absent from the cabinet meeting on the 6th, attended Thursday’s session.
Her presence marked her return to active participation in cabinet discussions. Senior IAS officer Rizvi, who had applied for voluntary retirement, also attended the cabinet meeting as Principal Secretary.
“We also discussed the local elections in the cabinet. The High Court will hold a hearing on BC reservations on the 3rd of next month. The cabinet will make its decision following the High Court verdict. Minister Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy announced a cabinet meeting on the 7th of next month.
He said the cabinet intends to introduce an ordinance lifting the two-child rule.
The state cabinet has approved resuming SLBC tunnel work using advanced drilling technology after the accident-induced halt. The government aims to complete the SLBC project by late 2026 or early 2027. It will provide free irrigation and drinking water to the joint Nalgonda district through gravity.
The cabinet approved assigning the tunnel excavation work to the original contract company.
The assignment will proceed without any change in the estimated cost. Workers have completed excavation of 35 km out of the total 44 km tunnel. The cabinet approved using cutting-edge technology to dig the remaining 9 km of the tunnel. This will prevent any harm to the forest, environment, and wildlife.
