HYDERABAD: Announcement of new schemes and mobilising additional financial resources for the State will be among several topics to be discussed by the State Cabinet when it meets here on Thursday. The Cabinet meeting is scheduled to be held at Pragathi Bhavan from 3 pm. In an official press release issued on Tuesday, the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) said: “Discussions will be on mobilisation of additional resources for the State and other key issues.”
The Cabinet is also expected to ratify Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao’s decision to extend Aasara pension to 10 lakh additional beneficiaries in the State, for which the State government requires an additional funds of Rs 2,400 crore per year. Extending the Aasara pension to new beneficiaries, even while continuing with the existing welfare schemes, would be a daunting task for the government, especially in the wake of “economic sanctions” imposed by the Centre.
The Central government has already cut the market borrowing limit of the State by Rs 15,000 crore this year. Besides, the State is not getting the expected grants-in-aid from the Centre. In the wake of this, the State government is planning to mobilise additional financial resources.“We have been carrying out an exercise for the last four months to mobilise additional resources. The State’s own revenue increased to some extent, with measures such as plugging loopholes in mining sector and others,” an official said.
The State government auctioned some valuable lands recently and increased taxes and fee for vehicle users. The Cabinet is expected to consider options to augment its own financial resources, sources said.
The State Cabinet is expected to take a decision on release of 75 prisoners and upgrading the Warangal jail as open air jail. It is also expected to take a decision on declaring the orphan children as State government children. The State will provide education and other facilities to these orphan children.