The Hindu : Polls to WUAs likely to be deferred

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Aug 02, 2002

Southern States

Southern States - Andhra Pradesh

Polls to WUAs likely to be deferred

By Our Special Correspondent

HYDERABAD Aug. 1. The Cabinet decided on Wednesday to continue the 10,000-odd Water Users' Associations and Distributary Committees as person in-charge bodies till the next elections. These committees have completed their tenures but the Government is planning to defer the polls as it is actively considering several changes in their functions, according to the Information Minister, S. Chandramohan Reddy.

Talking to presspersons, the Minister said the Cabinet had approved changes in the method of adjustment of water tax between the Irrigation Department, WUAs, Gram Panchayats, Project Committees and Distributary Committees. Fifty per cent of Rs. 200 an acre collected towards water tax will be adjusted to the Irrigation Department for meeting its requirement.

Only the current water tax collections will be adjusted and the arrears kept with the Government separately to meet the State's matching share of functional grants to WUAs. A detailed formula has been worked out for adjustment of current water tax collections of Rs. 200 an acre in major and medium sectors and Rs. 100 in the minor sector.

Vacant land tax revised

The Cabinet approved an amendment to the Hyderabad Municipal Corporation Act to revise the rates of vacant land tax from 2 per cent to 0.5 per cent of the estimated capital value of the land other than plots situated in cooperative societies.

The vacant land tax will be only one per cent of the capital value of the plots situated in cooperative societies. A penalty of 0.25 per cent of the capital value will be levied on vacant lands where garbage is being dumped or where unhygienic conditions prevail.

Encroachments in Kothagudem

A set of recommendations by a Cabinet sub-committee for regularisation of encroachments on Government land under lease to Singareni Collieries in Kothagudem were approved by the Cabinet.

Accordingly, all the residential encroachments by those living below the poverty line were regularised. In respect of encroachments beyond the extent of land prescribed by the Government, regularisation will be done by charging 70 per cent and 100 per cent of the basic value for residential and commercial establishments. Vacant plots will not be regularised and disciplinary action initiated against Government employees who have encroached the land.

Yogadhyayana Parishad

The Cabinet also approved a proposal to declare the Department of Indian Medicine and Homoeopathy as the parent department for the A. P. Yogadhyayana Parishad and its institutions and to treat its employees as Government servants for all purposes.

The Cabinet also decided that all Ministers would review the progress of Neeru-Meeru programme intensively and expedite the RIDF-VIII works so as to complete them within one or two months. It resolved to ask the Forest Department to improve its performance.

The Chief Minister, N. Chandrababu Naidu, announced sanction of Rs. 1 lakh as ex-gratia to Malli Sunil Kumar, a sixth class student of Nellore district, who is vigorously pursuing his studies in spite of losing his limbs in an accident.

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