Andhra Pradesh to replace CPS with GPS

Vijayawada: The AP Cabinet has taken a few crucial decisions to ensure that the government employees do not get angry keeping in view of the Assembly elections due to be held about nine months from now.

The Cabinet, which met here on Wednesday, gave approval for 63 issues, including introducing the ‘new pension scheme’. The employees have been agitating for the past several years demanding the old pension scheme and the YSRCP had promised to implement it during the election campaign. Finally, the Cabinet on Wednesday approved a draft copy of AP Guaranteed Pension Scheme stating that the new pension scheme will be introduced replacing the old CPS. In the new Bill, the retired employees will get 50 per cent of their basic wages with increase in Dearness Allowance as per the new GPS.

In another major move, the Cabinet decided to regularise the services of more than 10,000 contract employees who have been working since June 2, 2014.

It also gave nod for the appointment of 12th Pay Revision Commission and payment of 2.73 per cent DA with arrears from January 1, 2022 and an increase in House Rent Allowance for those working in district headquarters from 12 per cent to 16 per cent.

The Cabinet announced that it would issue notification to fill 6,840 new posts, including 3,920 posts in the Police department and 2,118 in new medical colleges.

It will abolish Vaidya Vidhana Parishad and merge 14,653 employees in the government. Briefing the media, Minister for Information and Public Relations Ch Srinivasa Venugopalakrishna said the Cabinet had decided to set up two junior colleges in each mandal, including one junior college for women. Among other important decisions were to lease out 28.35 acres of land of the Chittoor Dairy to Amul for 99 years. The minister said Ammavodi scheme will be launched on June 28 and Vidya Kanuka Kits will be distributed on June 12. Earlier the Cabinet observed two-minute silence mourning the death of those killed in the Coromandel train mishap in Odisha.