Guwahati, July 29 (IANS) Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has asked all Deputy Commissioners (DCs) in the state to ensure vegetarian food items are served in government functions or during the visit of the Chief Minister and other Ministers to the districts.

The Chief Minister said that DCs have been asked to keep the government functions simple and solemn.

To reduce the VIP culture, Sarma told the DCs “in case of the Chief Minister’s visit to districts, the cavalcade should not consist of more than 10 cars, including that of DC and the Superintendent of Police”.

He also congratulated them on the successful and peaceful conduct of Lok Sabha Elections 2024 and asked the Deputy Commissioners to visit polling stations which registered over 95 per cent of polling.

“DCs have been asked to transform districts as fulcrum of administration to ensure suitable disbursal of benefits. With the laying of foundations, newly constituted sub-districts would start functioning from October 2.

“A core committee would be constituted at the state level to support DCs to delegate work to the sub-districts,” the CM said and asked the DCs to visit and supervise the under construction government buildings in their respective jurisdictions.

“They should actively involve themselves in the development processes of the district. DCs should expedite work on health, education and Anganwadi Centres as they hold immense potential for development,” Sarma added.

He directed the DCs to distribute flood rehabilitation grants by August 12.

–IANS

sc/pgh

Gurugram, July 29 (IANS) An enforcement team of the Municipal Corporation of Gurugram (MCG) on Monday demolished an illegally constructed commercial building in Sector-17A.

According to the civic body officials, following instructions from Joint Commissioner Naresh Kumar, an MCG team reached the spot and demolished the illegal structure.

The officials said the basement and ground floor were constructed on 300 square yards of land along with the market. The building plan of the said property was also cancelled by the MCG.

“As per the MCG Commissioner Narhari Singh Bangar, strict monitoring is being done on encroachment, illegal occupation, and unauthorised and illegal constructions in the corporation area,” said MCG spokesperson S.S. Rohilla.

Separate enforcement teams have been formed in all four zones to take action on such activities. Assistant engineer-level officers have been made in charge of these teams who have also been given the responsibility of duty magistrate, he added.

–IANS

str/arm

Thiruvananthapuram, July 29 (IANS) In a boost to Kerala’s efforts in combating the surge in Primary Amoebic Meningoencephalitis (PAM) cases, the state has received a crucial batch of the life-saving drug Miltefosine from a UAE based philanthropist.

Kerala Health Minister Veena George received the first shipment from Germany on Monday, containing a box of 56 medicines valued at Rs 3.19 lakh.

This procurement was made possible with the assistance of Shamsheer Vayalil, a UAE-based doctor-turned-entrepreneur and Founder of VPS Healthcare.

The state government sought Shamsheer’s help following the sixth confirmed case of PAM in the state.

In response to a surge in cases of PAM, a rare and highly fatal infection caused by the brain-eating amoeba Naegleria fowleri, Kerala sought the help of Shamsheer.

So far, three children have succumbed to the disease in the past two months, while two others are currently receiving treatment at a hospital in Kozhikode. A new case was reported on Monday.

Recognising the effectiveness of Miltefosine (marketed as Impavido) in treating PAM, the state government has been actively working to procure the drug, which the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) began recommending for PAM treatment in 2013.

“With cases getting reported from Kerala, we consulted the Central government and identified Miltefosine as a crucial drug. However, its availability in India is very limited. Thanks to the support of Shamsheer and VPS Healthcare, this essential medicine has been handed over to the state government. I extend my thanks to him and his team for their timely assistance,” said George.

To ensure the continued availability of this crucial drug, a second batch of Miltefosine is expected to arrive within the next few days.

–IANS

sg/arm

New Delhi, July 29 (IANS): The unemployment rate for youth aged 15 to 29 years in India has been declining steadily over the last five years and has come down from 17.8 per cent in 2017-18 to 10 per cent in 2023-24, according to data tabled in the Parliament on Monday.

The official data source on Employment and Unemployment is the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) which is conducted by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) since 2017-18. The survey period is from July to June every year.

As per the latest available Annual PLFS reports, the estimated Worker Population Ratio (WPR) which reflects the employment rate has an increasing trend while the Unemployment Rate has a decreasing trend over the years, Union Minister of State for Labour & Employment Shobha Karandlaje told the Lok Sabha in a written reply.

She also stated that as per the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) latest KLEMS data, employment in the country increased to 64.33 crore in the financial year 2023-24 compared to 47.15 crore in 2014-15. The total increase in employment during 2014-15 to 2023-24 is about 17.19 crore.

She stated that employment generation coupled with improving employability is the priority of the government. Accordingly, the government has taken various steps to generate employment in the country.

“Government has announced in the Budget 2024-25, the Prime Minister’s package of 5 schemes and initiatives to facilitate employment, skilling and other opportunities for 4.1 crore youth over a 5-year period with a central outlay of Rs. 2 lakh crore,” she added.

Various Ministries/Departments like the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, Ministry of Rural Development, Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Textile, etc. are implementing different employment generation schemes like the Prime Minister’s Employment Generation Programme (PMEGP), Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS), Pt. Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalya Yojana (DDU-GKY), Rural Self Employment and Training Institutes (RSETIs), Deen Dayal Antodaya Yojana-National Urban Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NULM), Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana (PMMY), etc, the minister added.

–IANS

sps/vd

Amaravati, July 29 (IANS) The Andhra Pradesh government announced on Monday that it will build 1.25 lakh in the coming 100 days and 8.25 lakh houses in a year as part of its efforts to achieve the target of houses for all poor by 2029.

The government also decided to give house sites to new beneficiaries.

While beneficiaries in villages will be given three cents of land, those in urban areas will be allotted two cents each.

In the lands acquired by the previous government for house sites, the beneficiaries will be allotted three cents each.

These decisions were taken at a review meeting of the Housing Department, which was chaired by Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu.

Housing and Information & Public Relations Minister K. Parthasaradhi told media persons that the meeting had a detailed review of the current status of the housing programme and decisions were taken to fulfil the promises made in the elections.

The meeting also set the goals to achieve the target. It was decided to build affordable houses for people from the middle class, lower middle class, and journalists under the Central scheme Asra. These affordable housing projects will be designed on the lines of Sanjeeva Reddy Nagar and Kukatpally Housing Board in Hyderabad. A survey will be conducted to prepare an action plan in this regard.

The meeting noted that the previous government showed discrimination towards beneficiaries under the NTR housing scheme and despite the completion of houses, payments were not made to them. The Chief Minister directed officials to make payments immediately to all such beneficiaries.

Naidu also responded positively on entrusting the task of building houses under Polavaram R&R. The previous government did not provide basic amenities after allotting house sites. The Chief Minister asked officials to provide basic amenities at all such places.

He said that during the last five years, injustice was meted out to the poor to the tune of Rs 9,000 to Rs 10,000 crore in housing schemes. The YSRCP government claimed that it was a people’s government but imposed an economic burden on the poor, he said, adding said former Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy denied benefits to SCs, STs and BCs despite making tall claims.

He recalled that between 2014 and 2019 when his TDP was in power, SCs and STs were given Rs 50,000 to Rs 1 lakh each in addition to unit cost of Rs 2.50 lakh.

The minister said in the Union Budget, it was announced that houses to be built at a cost of Rs 4 lakh per unit will be sanctioned from March next year. In view of this, eligible beneficiaries will be identified across the state and for this, a survey will be conducted. He said the state Housing Department had taken up construction of 8 lakh houses under PMAY scheme Asra. The minister said their government would complete these houses. Beneficiaries will be identified for sanctioning houses under PMAY 2.0.

–IANS

ms/vd