VIJAYAWADA: The State Cabinet took a decision to cancel the allotment of government land to Sarada Peetham. The decision was taken during a Cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu at the Secretariat on Wednesday.
The previous YSRC government had allocated 15 acres of government land to Sarada Peetham at Pendurthi of Visakhapatnam in 2021. The Council of Ministers pointed out that though the actual value of the land was estimated around Rs 225 crore, the previous administration allotted it to the Sarada Peetham at a meagre Rs 15 lakh (Rs 1 lakh per acre).
While the GO, released at the time, mentioned that the land should be utilised for activities of the Peetham and promotion of Vedic education, Sri Swatmanandendra Saraswati wrote a letter to the then chief minister seeking the government to allow them to utilise the land for enhancing the Peetham’s revenue. In this backdrop, the Cabinet took the decision to cancel the land allotment.
Besides approving the proposal to supply three LPG refills to eligible women from Diwali under the Deepam scheme, the Council of Ministers decided to abolish seigniorage and GST charges on sand.
Govt to appoint Nayee Brahmins as members of temple trust boards
A decision was also taken to provide representation to Brahmins and Nayee Brahmins on the boards of various temple trusts. Elaborating on the decisions taken during the Cabinet meeting, Ministers Kolusu Parthasarathy (Housing, Information and Public Relations), Vangalapudi Anitha (Home), Nadendla Manohar (Civil Supplies) and Kollu Ravindra (Mines and Excise) said the Cabinet approved the proposal to amend the AP Charitable and Hindu Religious Organisations and Endowments Act-1987 to add one Brahmin and one Nayee Brahmin as members to the boards of temple trusts.
The number of members on the trust boards of temples, which have an annual revenue of over Rs 20 crore, will increase to 17 from 15, once the Assembly passes a Bill to amend the Act. The Cabinet also resolved to revive GOIR (Government Orders Issue Register) web portal to upload all GOs.
“The previous government had issued an order on September 7, 2021, categorising GOs as Top Secret, Secret, Confidential and Routine Nature. Only selective GOs were uploaded. Although the judiciary had directed the then government to upload all the GOs, the same was not done,” Kolusu said.
Stating that the NDA government has decided to prioritise transparency in administration, the I&PR Minister said besides using technology, the Cabinet unanimously agreed to upload all GOs on GOIR to make it available for the people.
Accusing the previous YSRC government of ruling the roost by misusing sand reserves, Kollu said the NDA government introduced free sand policy in a bid to encourage construction sector. Now, the Cabinet has decided to waive the seigniorage charges, too, besides giving exemption to DMF and MERIT fees, the Mines Minister explained.
