HYDERABAD: BRS floor leader in Lok Sabha Nama Nageswara Rao on Friday alleged that the Central government failed to supply the required quantities of urea to Telangana. During question hour, Nageswara Rao said: “There is a severe shortage of urea in Telangana and the Centre failed to supply the required quantities. As a result, the farmers are suffering a lot.”
He demanded that the Minister concerned explain the benefits of the New Urea Policy 2015. However, Union Minister of State for Chemicals and Fertilisers Bhagwanth Khuba said that the Centre ensures adequate availability of urea to meet the requirements of States. At present, 5.03 lakh metric tonne is available in Telangana today. However, Nageswara expressed dissatisfaction with the reply. He said that the Minister did not provide an answer to his question and no details on subsidy provided on fertilisers, Nageswara Rao said.
Strength of judges Responding to a question raised by BRS MPs Venkatesh Netha Borlakunta and Gaddam Ranjith Reddy on strength of judges in Telangana High Court, Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Law and Justice Arjun Ram Meghwal said that there are 30 judges,25 permanent and five additional, in the State High Court against the sanctioned strength of 42 while there are 12 vacancies, seven permanent and five additional as on July 31. He also said that at present, four proposals of the Telangana High Court are at various stages of processing between the Government of India and the Supreme Court Collegium.
Further recommendations from High Court Collegium are yet to be received in respect of the remaining eight vacancies in the Telangana High Court. The oldest vacancy of a judge in the Telangana High Court dates back to May 3, 2022, he said, ncies is a continuous process. The Minister said that at the Joint Conference of Chief Justices and Chief Ministers held on April 7, 2013, a decision was taken to increase the number of judges of the High Courts by 25 per cent and accordingly, it was enhanced from 24 to 42 on June 9, 2021.
The Union Minister also stated that requests for the establishment of High Court Benches have been received from various organisations from time to time. In reply to a question, Union Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare Bharati Pravin Pawar said that administrative approvals have been accorded to the State na for an amount of Rs 915.79 crore for the construction/strengthening of 31 critical care blocks (CCB) in all districts, where the population is above five lakh.