When the CM lost his cool

Chief Minister K Rosaiah rarely loses his cool,but last Wednesday was different.

Chief Minister K Rosaiah rarely loses his cool,but last Wednesday was different. Several ministers were left squirming in their seats as Rosaiah chided them for keeping quiet while TDP president N Chandrababu Naidu was accusing the government of corruption and inefficiency. Am I the only one in this government? Am I the only minister here? Why do you keep quiet when Opposition leaders accuse us of something? the CM is learnt to have charged his colleagues. The CM was in a bad mood because Naidu had charged that Rosaiah lacked the ability to deal with corrupt ministers and did not have the guts to act against them. Understandably,the CMs outburst sent the ministers on a guilt trip and they trooped out of the meeting all fired up and immediately took on Naidu. But their defence of the government was botched up. Instead of addressing Naidus concerns about corruption,they ended up pointing out NREGAs success in the state and improvement in agriculture!

Koda connection in I-T raids

The mysterious income-tax raids on Hyderabad-based Nagarjuna Construction Company NCC may have something to do with former Jharkhand chief minister Madhu Koda. Sources say that contracts awarded to the company by the Jharkhand government,when Koda was the CM,are under scrutiny and the I-T is looking at projects executed by the company in the last three-four years. The NCC had bagged the contract to construct games village,housing complex and apartments for the 34th National Games which were scheduled to be held in December but have been postponed. The NCCs Ranchi office was simultaneously raided by the I-T officials. The raids are another blow to the construction major. In July,the National Environmental Appellate Authority quashed the environmental clearance granted to the company to set up a thermal power plant at Sompeta village in Srikakulam district.

Pay more to use Hyderabad airport

Hyderabads swanky Rajiv Gandhi International Airport never fails to awe even frequent travelers. But the hike in user development fee,which will come into effect from November 1,may prove to be jaw-dropping for everyone. The GMR Hyderabad International Airport Limited GHIAL has increased user development fee UDF from the existing Rs 907 to Rs 1,656 for international passengers and from Rs 340 to Rs 420 for domestic passengers. This does not include taxes,which are extra. The hike was approved by the Airports Economic Regulatory Authority of India AERA,but airport managers are unhappy because AERA struck down the GHIALs actual proposal to increase the UDF to Rs 500 for domestic passengers and Rs 2,825 for international passengers. The GHIAL,which handled more than 65 lakh passengers in 2009-10,says that without the hike and an increase in aeronautical and landing charges,they would incur a loss of Rs 980 crore in 2010-11.

Tour season for politicians

It is the season of yatras in the state,but everyone is asking where is Y S Jaganmohan Reddy? Well,the defiant Congress MP from Kadapa finds no mention in newspapers and electronic media for his Odarpu Yatra these days. He is at present touring Prakasam district. While Jaganmohan is staking his claim for the CMs post,other leaders are starting their own yatras unsure of what is going to happen after December 31 when Justice Srikrishna Committee submits its report on Telangana. Praja Rajyam Party president Chiranjeevi will embark upon a Praja Chaitanya Yatra of Telangana districts later this month. Chiranjeevi,who is against bifurcation of the state,intends to visit all districts of Telangana. TDP president N Chandrababu Naidu will start his yatra from East Godavari district and plans to tour the entire state to expose the failures of the Central and state governments. In spite of negligible presence,the BJP has started its own visit the villages tour,led by former MP Bandaru Dattatreya.