Telangana abolishes two-child norm for local body elections; decides to resume work on world's longest SLBC tunnel
Telangana scraps rule that barred individuals with more than two children from contesting local body polls
By Newsmeter Network
Hyderabad: Telangana Forest Minister Konda Surekha attends cabinet; apologizes for her daughter’s behaviour
Hyderabad : Telangana Cabinet has scrapped the two-child norm for local body (LB) elections. The Cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy took a series of decisions.
The Cabinet removed the rule that barred individuals with more than two children from contesting Mandal Parishad Territorial Constituencies (MPTCs), Zilla Parishad Territorial Constituencies (ZPTCs), ward member, and sarpanch elections.
The Cabinet also decided to resume work on the world's longest SLBC tunnel. The Cabinet decided to take up the remaining tunnel work with state-of-the-art drilling expertise.
It also decided to complete the SLBC project, which will provide water to 3.50 lakh acres through gravity and provide irrigation and drinking water to fluoride-affected areas in the joint Nalgonda district, at any cost.
The Cabinet allowed the use of advanced drilling methods instead of the tunnel boring machine used so far for tunnel excavation. The contracting agency has come forward to complete the remaining work without any change in the estimated cost.
The Cabinet approved the assignment of the work of completing the tunnel excavation to the same contracting company. Of the total 44 km tunnel, 35 km of excavation has been completed from both sides so far. The work was halted due to the unfortunate accident that occurred on February 22.
The Cabinet approved the use of cutting-edge technology to dig the remaining 9 km of tunnel without disturbing the forest, environment, and wildlife. It has been decided to complete the SLBC by June 2028.
The Cabinet decided to expedite the construction of the four super-specialty hospitals. The authorities have been directed to speed up the construction of Warangal Super-Specialty Hospital, LB Nagar TIMS, Sanath Nagar TIMS, and Alwal TIMS.
The Cabinet gave in-principle approval to the proposals for setting up 1500 MW battery energy storage units in the state. It has been directed that the power department should take an appropriate decision on where these constructions should be undertaken.
The Cabinet approved the decommissioning of the 52-year-old Ramagundam Thermal Station (RTS-B 62.5 MW unit) in Ramagundam, as its term has expired.
It was decided to convene another Cabinet meeting on November 7.
