Maytas effect: More idle projects face axe

After ejecting Maytas Infra from the Metro Rail project, the state government has decided to crack the whip on other companies which have been delaying major infrastructure projects.

The much-hyped 100-storied tower by Anil Ambani’s Reliance group, the Special Economic Zone and oil refinery at Kakinada, which is jointly promoted by the GMR and Kakinada Sea Ports Limited, Machilipatnam port and IT SEZs on the city outskirts are under scanner.

Work on irrigation projects such as Pulichintala and Polavaram besides the Outer Ring Road have also been going on at snail’s pace, thanks to the indifferent attitude of contractors.

To read the full article, click here..
To read the ePaper, visit: http://www.dc-epaper.com/

Indian Administrative Services quota for state increased

The state will have more young bureaucrats as the Centre has sanctioned higher IAS quota from the next year.

The Centre cleared the state government’s plea to increase IAS quota based on the present-day requirements. Now, the state would have 33 more IAS officers in its quota increasing the number to 347 from 314.

For the first time after 20 years, the state is set to receive more number of direct recruits and promotee officers.

There have been 219 direct recruitee IAS officers in the state service and the number has been raised to 242 from the next batch.

“Next year, we will get more officers from Mussorie, fresh from training,” a senior general administration official said.

Meanwhile, the number of IAS officers for promotion from the state service has also been increased to 105 from present 95.

“Ten more IAS posts for the state is a wonderful news in the back drop of intense competition among state officers these days. The increase would bring an equilibrium in the quota of direct recruitees and promotees, which has been a contentious issue for long,” a senior bureaucrat said.

To read the full article, click here..
To read the ePaper, visit:
http://www.dc-epaper.com/DC/DCH/2008/12/29/index.shtml

2-day power cut for industry

The state government has decided to ask the industrial sector to observe total shutdown for two days a week because of the worsening power crisis.

A fortnight ago, power officials had asked industries to down shutters for one day in a week.

But with the power situation continuing to be grim, the industries are set to get forced holidays for two days a week.

Thanks to official power cuts and emergency load shedding, industries across the state are already struggling to maintain the production targets.

It is estimated that the power cuts have brought down production in the cement, steel, ceramic and chemical industries in the state by around 30 per cent.

The production is set to come down further with the increase in the duration of power cuts.

These power cuts would be implemented in rotation, so the electricity system would get the required relief. “We had asked for additional 700 MW power to cater to increased demand in and around Hyderabad city but it has not materialised,” said Mr Ravinder Reddy, Director of Central Discom.

To read the full article, click here..
To read the ePaper, visit: http://www.dc-epaper.com/deccanchronicle

Booze hits a new high in Andhra

The state is expected to rake in Rs 2,500 crore through auction of liquor outlets with bidders quoting rates which were 100 to 200 per cent excess of minimum bid price.

The auctions began amid attempts by Opposition parties to disrupt proceedings.

The highest bid price of Rs 2.07 crore was quoted for the outlet in Madhapur in Cyberabad followed by Rs 2.05 crore for a shop in the harbour area of Visakhapatnam. A bid of Rs 2.02 crore was made for a shop in Kothaguda and another of Rs 2.01 crore in Bandlaguda, both in RR district.

There were major bids for liquor outlets in the city too. A shop in Jubilee Hills went for Rs 1.8 crore and those in Parsigutta, Ameerpet, Yousufguda and Yerragadda went for rates ranging from Rs 1.10 crore to Rs 1.20 crore. As many as 22 shops in the city were auctioned without any competition, while all the eight shops in Secunderabad area were auctioned for Rs 1.17 crore. Because of large number of applications, the process is expected to go on till Tuesday afternoon.

The state also increased the licence fee for bars by 15 per cent. It aims to collect Rs 23.81 lakh per licence in cities with a population of above 7 lakh. Bidders have to pay Rs 9.92 lakh for bars in areas with a population of 10,000, and Rs 12.57 lakh for areas with population ranging from 10,000 to 50,000. The entire district is in high spirits. The government on Monday earned a whopping Rs 105 crore for granting permission to set up 406 liquor shops.

To read the full article, click here..
To read the ePaper, visit: http://www.dc-epaper.com/deccanchronicle

Rupees 1m for engineering, 5m for medicine seats

The demand for management quota seats in both engineering and medical courses in the state has reached a new high this year with students paying Rs 10 lakh for an engineering seat and Rs 50 lakh for an MBBS seat.

Though the government prescribed fee for an engineering seat in management quota is Rs 83,000 and Rs 4 lakh for an MBBS seat, the huge demand for seats from parents and students has led college managements hiking the fee to exorbitant levels.

Even this has not deterred students and parents to seek admissions in these colleges, which are known to have “brand value”.

Most of the colleges have already closed admissions, although “unofficially,” as the norms of the state government does not permit them to start admissions without issuing notification for the purpose.

To read the full article, click here...
To read the ePaper, visit: http://www.dc-epaper.com/deccanchronicle

Teachers chase District Education Officer in park

The District Education Officer, Ms B.Mallamma, was attacked at the Public Gardens on Monday by irate teachers protesting the merger of upper primary schools with nearby high schools.

Several teachers reached the Indira Priyadarshini Auditorium, where the DEO was holding an orientation programme for headmasters of government schools. They shouted slogans against the government and then rushed to the dais and threw away mikes, water bottles, files and chairs. The angry teachers then asked the DEO to withdraw the decision on mergers. Ms Mallamma tried to explain that she was just implementing the orders of the government and showed them copies of relevant orders. However, the protesting teachers grabbed the papers from her and tore them into pieces.

The teachers pointed out that the government had decided to close down 150 schools and also merge another 90 upper primary schools.

To read the full article, click here...
To read the ePaper, visit: http://www.dc-epaper.com/deccanchronicle

No land for Information Technology companies to set up shop

Several major Information Technology companies have been waiting in vain for land from the state government to set up their units around the city.

Though the government claims to have a pro-IT stance, it has not yet responded to the applications of top-notch companies such as Siemens, HCL, Applabs and Value Labs for land.

The state government did say some time back that it would not allot any more land around Hyderabad to IT firms but it made exceptions for companies such as Infosys. “We expected a positive response from the government when we proposed to set up our second centre in the country in Hyderabad,” said a Siemens official. “But it has not taken a decision yet.” In fact, the IT department does not have even a single acre to allot to the IT companies. The state government has transferred hundreds of acres to the AP Infrastructure Corporation for auction, because of the increasing pressure on land around Gachibowli and in the vicinity of Shamshabad Airport.

To read the full article, click here...
To read the ePaper, visit: http://www.dc-epaper.com/deccanchronicle

Andhra Pradesh law to dampen cement price rise

The state government is planning to issue an ordinance amending the Essential Commodities Act to rein in cement companies which are refusing to reduce prices.

This is being done since the attempts by the cabinet subcommittee headed by the Finance Minister, Mr K. Rosaiah, to persuade the cement companies to bring down prices did not work out.

The committee is expected to broach the idea of an ordinance with the Chief Minister, Dr Y.S. Rajasekhar Reddy, on Thursday.

“We have given enough time to the companies to reduce prices but many of them are turning a deaf ear to the public demand,” said the minister for Housing, Mr Botsa Satyanarayana. Sources said the state was also thinking of cancelling mining licenses extended to the cement companies if they remained stubborn. “That will happen only if all the other means fail,” said Mr Satyanarayana.

To read the full article, click here...
To read the ePaper, visit: http://www.dc-epaper.com/deccanchronicle