Hyderabad, February 15: The recommendations of Justice Panduranga Rao Commission of Inquiry into the financial irregularities committed by Elugubanti Suryanarayana, an engineer working in the Fisheries Department, have been accepted by the State government.
The Commission found Suryanarayana and other accused prima facie guilty of swindling public funds during construction of individual houses, welfare hostels under various schemes of other departments prior to 2008. Following a hue and cry raised by the Opposition, the Commission was constituted in December 2008 by the then Chief Minister Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy. A Minister later said action would be taken soon against all those who caused to the exchequer by adopting fraudulent means.
‘Rachabanda successful’
These decisions were taken at a three-hour-long meeting of the Cabinet, which was convened by Chief Minister N. Kiran Kumar Reddy after a long gap of 45 days here on Monday.
The Chief Minister and Ministers noted that the just-concluded Rachabanda was “overwhelmingly successful”. People participated in large numbers all over the State, except in some areas of Telangana, they said.
Sources said the Cabinet decided to amend Section 5B of the 1971 AP Record of Rights & Pattadar Pasbooks Act in line with the recommendations of the Koneru Ranga Rao Committee on land reforms to empower the revenue divisional officer to receive complaints and scrutinise passbooks.
Similarly, the AP Agriculture Produce & Livestock Act would be amended to facilitate issuing of licences for e-trading in cooperative markets.
A proposal to provide Rs. 150 crore as working capital to six cooperative sugar factories at Renugunta, Chittoor, Kovvur, Bhimsinghi, Tandava and Thummalapalem was also approved.
Renamed
A resolution was adopted renaming the AP Horticulture University as Dr. YSR Horticulture University by amending the relevant Act. A record number of 2,352 posts were sanctioned to benefit a number of educational and other institutions, including the 65 degree colleges sanctioned during 2008-10.
The Cabinet decided to alienate 9.35 acres of land near Gopannapalli here to the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR).
–Agencies