‘EPF office in Khammam vital’

Union Minister of State for Labour Bandaru Dattatreya has mooted setting up of the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) sub-regional office in Khammam keeping in view the large concentration of workforce in the district, which is dotted with major industries in both public and private sectors.

Mr Dattatreya was speaking at a meeting organised here on Thursday in connection with the first anniversary of BJP led NDA government at the Centre.

Prior to the meeting, Mr Dattatreya participated in a mass contact programme as part of BJP’s “Maha Sampark Abhiyan” campaign in the town. He visited several houses in Khanapuram Haveli and other areas in connection with the programme.

Addressing a gathering of party workers and others later in the day, Mr Dattatreya said the Centre has urged the State government to send a detailed project report on establishment of a steel factory in Bayyaram.

The Centre will positively consider such a move to usher in the accelerated development of the predominantly tribal populated mandal, he said. The defunct FCI plant at Ramagundam in Karimnagar district will be revived at an outlay of Rs 5,000 crore soon. Efforts are on to ensure setting up of a thermal power station exclusively meant for Telangana at NTPC’s land in Ramagundam as per the provision incorporated to this effect in the AP Reorganisation Act.

The Centre has taken several bold steps like e-auction of the coal blocks which fetched whopping revenue to several States, he said, adding that the BJP government at the Centre launched a plethora of social security initiatives for the poor and other underprivileged sections.BJP district president K Sridhar Reddy was present.