The Presidential order that confers local status to AP government employees shifting from Hyderabad to Vijayawada came as a big relief to those harbouring suspicions. But there are still a good number of employees flagging their concerns.
Some members of a delegation of A.P Secretariat Gazetted Officers’ Forum, which met the Chief Minister here a couple of days ago, sought at least six months more time for moving out of Hyderabad citing a plethora of problems faced by them, particularly related to women employees and children’s education. This was earlier disputed by leaders of APNGO’s Association. They claimed to have reached a consensus that the employees should “stand by the CM during this hour of crisis” by setting aside their own problems, and asserted that it was only the voices of ‘splinter groups’ within the employees that were getting highlighted by a section of the media.
As the deadline for commencement of functioning of the State administration at Velagapudi draws closer, politicians as well as the public are keeping their fingers crossed. But the writing on the wall, that the ‘Darbar shift’ is not going to be a smooth affair, is pretty clear, observed an official of APTransco.
SWEDISH CONNECTION
At a time when hopes of double-bedroom housing aspirants in city were uncertain as even the selection process did not take off, a meeting scheduled between Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao and representatives of a Swedish housing construction company has rekindled hopes of aspirants for one lakh houses that the government announced.
The Swedish firm has already submitted its proposals along with designs and is eager to take up the work.
In its proposal, the company claimed that it had constructed buildings up to 30 floors with a new technology.
It offered to complete one-lakh 2BHK houses within a year at the unit cost of Rs.8 lakh as proposed by the government.
Not convinced with the technology proposed by the Swedish firm which has got the clearance from the Building Materials Technology Promotion Council (BMTPC), some construction companies which are also interested in the 2BHK housing project are understood to have decided to visit some European countries to see for themselves the constructions and raw material used by the firm.
CHAI FOR RS. 10, BEEMA FOR RE. 1?
Union Minister for Human Resource Development Smriti Irani has a way with words. Besides being a good orator, she knows the knack of articulation. Participating in a ‘Vikas Parv’ programme in city recently, she sought to remind people that the Modi Government at the Centre had launched a series of welfare schemes that were aimed at improving the living standards of all sections in society. Breaking away from the flow of her speech, she abruptly tossed a query: “How much do you pay for a cup of tea here? In my last visit, I was treated to a delicious cup of chai after the meeting which was said to be costing around Rs. 6 or Rs. 7. How much does it cost now,” she repeated the question addressing the audience.
“Rs. 10,” people shouted in unison. Now was the chance for the Minister to quip: “And Modi bhai gives you a beema scheme for mere Re. 1,” she said, generating a huge round of applause .
