The Hindu : National : 238 cities, towns upgraded

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Oct 15, 2004

National

National

238 cities, towns upgraded

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI, OCT. 14. The Union Cabinet has decided to reclassify 238 cities and towns in a higher category for the purpose of grant of house rent allowance and compensatory city allowance for Central Government employees. The upgradation is with retrospective effect from April.

The cities and towns that have been upgraded for the purpose of HRA include Bhavani, Hosur, Namakkal, Gobichettipalayam, Dharapuram, Coonoor, Thiruvarur, Sankarankoil and Thoothukkudi in Tamil Nadu and Quilandy, Malappuram, Tirur, Kunnamkulam, Nedumangad and Neyyatinkara in Kerala.

In Andhra Pradesh, Guntur, Warangal, Mandamarri, Kamareddy, Koratla, Tandur, Wanaparthy, Gadwal, Bhongir, Bobbili, Tuni, Samalkot, Pithapuram, Amalapuram, Nuzvid, Sattenapalle, Vinukonda, Markapur, Kandukur, Rayachoti and Rayadurg have been upgraded and in Karnataka, Mysore, Jamkhandi, Ilkal, Shahabad, Yadgir, Basavakalyan, Sindhnur, Koppal, Sirsi, Haveri, Sagar, Udupi, Sira, Tiptur, Chik-Ballapur, Robertsonpet, Chamarajnagar and Kollegal.

The other cities and towns that have been upgraded include Faridabad (Haryana), Jaipur, Bikaner, and Jaisalmer, (Rajasthan), Lucknow, Meerut, Agra, Varanasi, Moradabad, Ghaziabad, and Aligarh, (Uttar Pradesh), Patna, Sitamarhi, Samastipur, Gopalganj, and Aurangabad, (Bihar), Srinagar, Baramulla, Jammu, Anantnag, Udhampur and Sopore (J&K), Taran Taran and Gobindgarh (Punjab), Bongaigaon, North Lakhimpur, and Sibsagar (Assam), Jamshedpur and Sahibganj (Jharkhand), Cuttack, Bhubaneswar, and Paradip (Orissa), Durg, Bhilai Nagar, and Raipur (Chhattisgarh), Surat, Bhavnagar, and Vapi (Gujarat), Pune, Nagpur, Nashik, Lonavala, Vasai, and Navi-Mumbai (Maharashtra), Panaji (Goa), Bina-Etawa (Madhya Pradesh), Gangarampur (West Bengal), Rishikesh (Uttaranchal), and Tura (Meghalaya).

The towns and cities that have been upgraded for the purpose of CCA include Pondicherry, Bangalore, Belgaum, Mangalore, Hyderabad, Vijayawada, Guntur, Warangal, Nagpur, Nashik, Bhiwandi, Amravati, Kolhapur, Surat, Rajkot, Jamnagar, Bhavnagar, Raipur, Jabalpur, Cuttack, Bhubaneswar, Jamshedpur, Dhanbad, Asansol, Lucknow, Meerut, Agra, Allahabad, Aligarh, Moradabad, Jaipur, Faridabad, Amritsar, Dehradun, Srinagar and Jammu.

Announcing the decision, the Finance Minister, P. Chidambaram, said the total additional financial implications on account of the upgradation would be Rs. 144 crores per annum.

`Yojana' extended

The Cabinet also approved the continuation of the Rashtriya Sam Vikas Yojana with an allocation of Rs. 1,000 crores a year for the special plan for Bihar and Rs. 250 crores a year for the special plan for the undivided Kalahandi-Bolangir-Koraput districts of Orissa and extension of the backward districts initiative component to 14 more districts in Bihar and seven more in Orissa under the scheme. The scheme is aimed at accelerating socio-economic development in the areas covered it.

In addition, the meeting gave ex-post facto approval for the agreement with European Community on customs cooperation and for the pact with the Caribbean Community for the establishment of a standing joint commission on consultation, cooperation and coordination in political, economic, environmental, health and scientific and technical fields.

Air services

The Cabinet has given its approval for the signing of an Air Services Agreement between India and Brazil. The agreement will signify an important landmark in the civil aviation relations between the two countries, paving the way for establishment of air links.

Mr. Chidambaram said that both countries shall have the right to designate one or more airlines for the purpose of operating the air services. The frequency of services and the capacity to be operated by the designated airlines shall be determined by the aeronautical authorities. The agreed services shall be operated on the routes specified for them.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

National