HYDERABAD: The Government plans to launch a special drive to fill Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe backlog posts by March next, Social Welfare Minister Redya Naik told the Assembly on Wednesday.

He told K.Nagesh (TRS) that 779 backlog vacancies of the 22,689 declared by Government as on March 31, 1999, were yet to be filled as on November 30. Of them, 240 pertained to SCs and 539 to STs.

Vacancies

Another 2,119 vacancies had arisen and 256 of them were filled, he said. The Government was committed to fill all vacancies, including promotions. Officials were monitoring whether the backlog was being filled by various departments.

Not satisfied with the reply and maintaining that the figures were wrong, Mr. Nagesh pressed for constitution of a House Committee to inquire into the matter. Speaker K. R. Suresh Reddy said he would ask the chairmen of the Assembly Committees on SC and ST Welfare to look into it.

Mr Nagesh rushed to the well, along with his colleague K. Eashwar, following which Chief Minister Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy urged the Chair to direct the chairmen to submit reports in three to four months.

New excise policy

Commercial Taxes Minister K. Ramakrishna told N. Narasimaiah (CPI-M) that a comprehensive excise policy would be formulated to ensure regulation of liquor shops and crackdown on belt shops. Lesser number of licences were now given for liquor shops, compared with the previous years.

Members cutting across party lines expressed concern over the release of effluents by pharmaceutical industries producing Ranitidine drug and wanted them closed. Forest Minister S.Vijayarama Raju said of the four industries producing the drug three were located in Medak and another in Nalgonda. While SMS Pharmaceuticlas Ltd., Khazipally (Jinnaram mandal) had decided to move to Karnataka, Saraca Laboratories would shift from Gaddapotharam to Srikakulam district. Referring to the members' concern over the release of pungent gas by a unit of Dr.Reddy's Laboratories at Tripuraram in Nalgonda district, he promised to send officials for monitoring the situation.

Urban district

Home Minister K. Jana Reddy informed B. Saraiah (Cong.) that there was no proposal to establish a police commisionerate at Warangal.

The Government was thinking of making Warangal an urban district. Earlier, the House was stalled for 15 minutes by the TDP members who sought a statement after the Speaker disallowed the adjournment motion on the non-release of revolving fund to DWCRA groups. Five others motions, including those given by the Left parties, were rejected.

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