VIJAYAWADA : Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu will chair the first Cabinet meeting after forming government, on Monday. In all likelihood, the main focus of the Cabinet will be on Amaravati capital city and Polavaram Project, sources said.
Within a week of taking charge, Naidu visited Polavaram and Amaravati. He has touted the Polavaram irrigation project as the lifeline of Andhra Pradesh, and Amaravati capital city as his dream project. The government has sought reports on damage caused to the Polavaram project, and the status of various infrastructure projects in Amaravati. The Ministers are likely to discuss them during the Cabinet meeting.
The Council of Ministers are scheduled to meet at the State Secretariat at 10 am. Before the meeting, Naidu’s son and Mangalagiri MLA Nara Lokesh will assume office as Minister for Human Resources Development, IT, Electronics and Communications, and RTG, while Machilipatnam MLA Kollu Ravindra will take charge as Minister for Mines and Geology, and Excise.
It has been learnt that the volunteer system, which had become an election issue, might also come up during the meeting. In the run up to the polls, the NDA had promised to enhance the honorarium of volunteers to `10,000 from `5,000. Sources indicated that the leaders might discuss the number of volunteers to be reinstated and their roles. It may be pointed out that scores of volunteers had resigned before the elections. Following the formation of the new government, they have been demanding reinstatement, claiming that they had resigned due to pressure from the YSRC.
YSRC govt’s ‘failures’ may be exposed
According to sources, the Cabinet might also hold discussions on releasing white papers on various sectors like agriculture, finance and irrigation to ‘expose’ the failures of the previous YSRC government.
Other subjects that may come up for discussion include the spread of seasonal diseases and the steps to be taken up to curb the same. Simultaneously, the Council of Ministers will also discuss the situation in the agriculture sector in view of the copious rains the State is receiving, sources added.
Additionally, the Cabinet will ratify the files cleared by Naidu and his Cabinet colleagues soon after they assumed office. In line with the promises made during electioneering, the Chief Minister had signed five files, which included conducting a Mega DSC exam and abolishing the Land Titling Act.