Telangana CM meets PM amid talk of early polls
Hyderabad, Aug 25: Amid growing talks of early elections to Telangana Legislative Assembly, Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao on Saturday met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi.
Though officially it was stated that Rao called on the Prime Minister to discuss various pending issues pertaining to the state, the meeting assumed significance in the wake of hints of early polls by the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) chief.
This is Rao's second meeting with Modi this month and the third in as many months.
It also comes two days after Telangana government's Chief Advisor Rajiv Sharma met Election Commissioner Ashok Lavasa.
KCR, as the TRS chief is popularly known, had dropped hints that the Assembly elections may be held early. The state elections are originally scheduled along with the Lok Sabha polls next year.
The TRS leader has already stated that the party will announce its candidates next month.
Meanwhile, according to a statement from the Chief Minister's Office, KCR met Modi on Saturday and discussed various issues pertaining to the state pending for clearances and approvals from the Centre.
He urged the Prime Minister to raise the annual borrowing limit for Telangana by an additional 0.50 per cent of the Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) as recommended by the 14th Finance Commission
KCR said the state government has fulfilled the conditions laid down for availing the additional fiscal space of 0.5 per cent of GSDP.
"There is a significant jump in the expenditure commitments of the state on account of flagship programmes like irrigation and provision of drinking water to every household. All of the works have reached an advance stage and are about to give benefit to a large number of people in the state," the Chief Minister said in his representation submitted to the PM.
KCR sought early nod for the new zonal system approved by the state cabinet recruitment in government departments, release of Rs 450 crore for the development of backward districts, release of additional FRBM funds, release of the Central share of interest on the loans to be given to women societies and farmers, bifurcation of high court, funds for regional Ring Road and allotment of defence lands for building secretariat.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Maharashtra sets up state vaccination task force to strengthen immunisation programme
Mumbai (PTI): The Maharashtra government has set up a State Vaccination Task Force to strengthen the regular immunisation programme and review the progress of related campaigns, a health department official said on Monday.
The State Vaccination Task Force will comprise at least 29 members and will be headed by the administrative head of the health department, he informed.
The government has also constituted separate district-level and municipal vaccination task forces to improve implementation and address challenges at the grassroots level, he said.
Municipal task forces, chaired by respective civic commissioners, have been constituted in view of the vast urban population in Maharashtra and the role of civic bodies in implementing different health programmes.
The district-level task forces will function under the chairmanship of collectors.
"Complete immunisation of children at the appropriate age is an extremely simple, cost-effective and highly effective measure to reduce child mortality and the prevalence of diseases among kids. Immunisation is a powerful tool for reducing illness in children," maintained the official.
To ensure full vaccination of all children, the state government implements various campaigns from time to time as per the central government guidelines, he pointed out.
"Active participation and cooperation of other relevant government departments are essential (in making these campaigns successful)," according to the official.
The state-level body will review the regular immunisation programme, associated campaigns and vaccine-preventable diseases in detail. It will also conduct focused assessments of high-risk districts and municipal corporations, including vacancies at district, municipal and sub-district levels, availability of cold chain equipment, resource gaps and training requirements, he noted.
The state task force will review allocation and utilisation of funds for immunisation and ensure timely action by officers concerned based on reports from district and municipal task forces and state-level monitoring mechanisms, the official said.
It will also ensure active coordination and participation of other government departments in immunisation drives, while district and municipal task forces will carry out similar functions at their respective levels, the official added.
