Telangana Cabinet clears 42% BC quota in local bodies, 22,000 new jobs, and private universities
Hyderabad: The Telangana Cabinet on Thursday approved a 42% reservation for Backward Classes (BCs) in local body elections, alongside key decisions including new job notifications, amendments to the Panchayat Raj Act, approval for private universities, and steps to modernise Gaushalas.
Chaired by Chief Minister Revanth Reddy, the Cabinet resolved to implement the 42% BC quota in accordance with empirical data and constitutional provisions. The decision follows legislative approval granted in the March Assembly session, covering both education and employment sectors as well as local bodies.
The government has already established a dedicated BC Commission and initiated caste-based data collection under the Planning Department. The latest directive mandates the implementation of the quota using mandal and district units as electoral bases for Sarpanchs, MPTCs, and ZPTCs.
To facilitate these changes, the Cabinet also approved amendments to the existing Telangana Panchayat Raj Act, 2018.
In education, the Cabinet greenlit the establishment of two private universities Amity University and Saint Mary’s Rehabilitation University with a rider that 50% of seats at Amity be reserved for local Telangana students.
In urban governance, the Cabinet approved de-listing of 18 village panchayats for merger into the newly formed Jinnaram and Indresham municipalities in Sangareddy district.
On livestock welfare, a three-member committee led by the Chief Secretary will review Gaushala infrastructure. Telangana currently has 306 Gaushalas, with plans to build new model facilities in Hyderabad’s Nekkepally, Veterinary University, Vemulawada, and Yadagirigutta.
The Cabinet also reviewed the progress of land acquisition for pending infrastructure projects and instructed departments to speed up the process.
Reviewing implementation since December 2023, the Cabinet noted that 327 issues were discussed over 18 meetings, of which 321 decisions were approved. This 19th Cabinet meeting also marked the start of a new system of reviewing implementation status during each session.
On employment, the Cabinet noted that the government has filled 60,000 posts in the last 18 months, with another 17,084 in process. It approved new notifications for 22,033 additional jobs. The Finance Department was tasked with collecting Aadhaar-linked data of outsourcing and contract employees to assess performance.
Departments were instructed to enhance accountability among government employees. A committee tasked with this review will submit a full report within two months.