Hyderabad, March 14 (RAHNUMA): Deputy Chief Minister Bhatti Vikramarka directed officials of the welfare departments to complete, on a war footing within the next three months, the buildings being constructed for welfare hostels that have already achieved 80 percent completion, so that they can be made available for use in the upcoming academic year.
He reviewed the budget proposals of the SC and ST Welfare departments along with Welfare Minister Adluri Laxman at the Secretariat here on Saturday. Later, he also conducted review meetings with officials from the Medical and Health department and the Endowments department.
The Deputy Chief Minister instructed officials to appoint a senior officer responsible for ensuring that hostel repair bills are submitted regularly to the Finance department every 15 days so that they can be cleared without delay.
He emphasised that repair works of welfare hostels must be completed during this summer and warned that negligence by officials in this regard will not be tolerated under any circumstances.
Bhatti Vikramarka further directed that officials of the welfare departments must send bills to the Finance Department on time for hostel rents, electricity bills, cosmetic charges, and salaries of outsourcing staff, as the government is committed to paying these expenses every month.
The Deputy Chief Minister recalled that during the previous government, such bills were cleared only once in seven months.
He also advised that a dedicated mechanism should be established to check the quality of materials supplied to welfare hostels, and regular reviews should be conducted.
Highlighting the government’s initiatives, he stated that diet charges have been increased by 40 percent and cosmetic charges by 200 percent, and that bills related to welfare hostels are being treated as a top priority for payment. In this context, officials were instructed to regularly visit the hostels, inspect the quality of teaching, food, and facilities, and submit periodic reports to higher authorities.
In a review meeting with the Medical and Health department, the Deputy Chief Minister noted that the entire world is increasingly turning toward Ayurveda. He instructed the AYUSH Department to prepare proposals to promote medicinal plant cultivation under the Employment Guarantee Scheme, and to take steps to grow medicinal plants in large numbers in villages as part of the programme.
