Come Ugadi, the Telugu New Year Day on April 11, four more items would be sold at fair price shops at less than market price.
They are tamarind, salt, chilli powder and turmeric. These will be in addition to rice, sugar, kerosene, palm oil and red gram, said Chief Minister N. Kiran Kumar Reddy.
Inaugurating a two-day conference of Joint Collectors here on Thursday, Mr. Kiran Reddy also said the fair price shops in the State will shortly sport a common design to make them look like government-owned outlets. Such shops will no more be allowed in households. Instructions to select the design had already been passed on.
The government proposed to extend one hundred services on ‘Mee Seva’ portal from March against 49 offered now. The objective was to ensure two to 2.5 crore transactions a year which would save the public an expenditure of Rs.4,000 crore to 6,000 crore that was usually cornered by middlemen, Mr. Kiran Reddy added.
The government would also announce shortly a mechanism giving people the right to claim penalty from departments that failed to deliver services on the portal within the specified time. The citizen’s charter would be amended to that effect.
Mr. Krain Reddy expressed satisfaction that only .3 per cent of total applications were delayed in disposal. The online extension of input subsidy to farmers saved the government Rs.300 crore because a number of false claims were weeded out as the names were found to be bogus. The government had budgeted Rs.1,800 crore for the purpose, but it would withdraw Rs.300 crore now.
The Chief Minister assured an academy to train revenue staff and recruitment of surveyors in a big way.
Revenue Minister N. Raghuveera Reddy said the government contemplated, by and large, one revenue division for each Assembly constituency.
It wanted to issue tamper-proof pattadar passbooks to eliminate bogus farmers. He highlighted the shortage of graveyards in a number of villages.
Chief Commissioner of Land Administration M. Samuel said there were 45 lakh beneficiaries of revenue lands in the State.
