Cabinet clears DA hike, Metro Phase 2B expansion and ₹33,000 crore for road development

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Deputy Chief Minister Bhatti Vikramarka, Revenue Minister Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy and Transport Minister Ponnam Prabhakar briefing the media after the Cabinet meeting at the Secretariat in Hyderabad on Thursday. | Photo Credit: ARRANGEMENT

The State Cabinet, chaired by Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy, has approved a wide range of decisions, including payment of another instalment of Dearness Allowances for employees, expansion of the Hyderabad Metro Rail, developing 13,357 Kms of roads, setting up Health Care Trust for employees and the establishment of Telangana Earth Sciences University.

The five-and-a-half-hour meeting held at the Secretariat on Thursday discussed at length issues concerning the State, including employees’ demands and some were accepted while the others would be cleared soon, said Deputy Chief Minister Bhatti Vikramarka and Revenue Minister Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy, who briefed the media.

Metro Rail Phase-2B cleared

The Cabinet also cleared the decks for the Hyderabad Metro Phase 2B project, to be executed jointly by the State and Central governments at an estimated cost of ₹19,579 crore. The project spans 86.1 km and includes three major corridors.

Corridor-1 includes Shamshabad Airport to Future City (39.6 km), Corridor-2 includes Jubilee Bus Station to Medchal (24.5 km), and Corridor-3 includes Jubilee Bus Station to Shamirpet (22 km). The project proposals would be sent to the Centre for jointly taking up, Mr. Srinivas Reddy said while urging that Union ministers G. Kishan Reddy and Bandi Sanjay Kumar to help to get the assistance cleared at the earliest.

Two DA instalments for employees

Mr. Vikramarka said the Cabinet approved the payment of two pending DAs to government employees. One DA, due from January 1, 2023, will be released immediately, and the second will be announced after six months. Arrears from the first DA will be paid in 28 monthly instalments.

He said the pending bills of the government employees would be cleared, releasing ₹700 crore per month. A Health Care Trust would be set up with employees contributing ₹500 per month and an equal amount contributed by the government. Medical assistance would be extended from the Trust to be headed by the Chief Secretary. Conducting the Departmental Promotion Committee (DPC) annually and establishing a State-level Medical Invalidation Committee are the other decisions.

The Cabinet formally approved the naming of Telangana Earth Sciences University in Kothagudem after late Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh, who played a key role in the formation of the State, said the Revenue Minister. The university is India’s first dedicated institution for earth sciences and will begin operations in the current academic year.

₹33,194 crore for Roads

Mr. Srinivas Reddy said the Cabinet also approved the ambitious plan to develop 13,137 km of roads under the Hybrid Annuity Model (HAM) with no burden on the people. These include 7,947 km under Panchayat Raj and 5,190 km under Roads & Buildings (R&B) department.

The government will invest ₹33,194 crore, including ₹16,780 crore for Panchayat Raj roads and ₹16,414 crore for R&B roads. Under the HAM model, contractors will be responsible for construction within two years and maintenance for 15 years. Projects will be executed as district-level packages across the erstwhile joint districts.

₹10 lakh for deceased SHG members

The government has decided to provide ₹10 lakh to the deceased members of women’s self-help groups. This support will be directly disbursed, avoiding third-party insurance premiums. Last year 385 women died and their families would get ₹38.5 crore.