Soren Govt to undertake floor test on Jan 7

Soon after being sworn in as the seventh chief minister, Shibu Soren has decided to undertake the floor test on January 7, a day ahead of the deadline stipulated for him by Governor K Sankaranarayanan.

Addressing journalists after the first cabinet meeting as chief minister, Soren flanked by his two cabinet colleagues, Raghubar Das (BJP) and Sudesh Mahto (AJSU party), announced this. For the purpose, the state cabinet approved a proposal to convene the session of the State Assembly on January 4.

Five-time legislator Telkal Mahto will be the pro-tem speaker, who will administer the oath to the elected members of the assembly and conduct the process for election of the speaker on January 6. The trust motion will be moved for debate and voting on January 7.

Governor K Sankranarayanan is expected to address the House the next day, which would be followed by a debate on the thanks motion moved by the chief minister.

Listing priorities of the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM)-led coalition, Soren said that the government would emphasise on quick realization of the development and welfare schemes in a time-bound manner. "For that, we have decided to stipulate a 100-day deadline for execution to each and every department. Objective would be set out soon after a meeting of the coalition partners to frame the common minimum programme (CMP) to run the government," said the chief minister .

"Although the agenda for the government is yet to be finalized, we, at the cabinet meeting, have decided to increase amount of the old age pension. This apart, the cabinet also approved distribution of 35 kg foodgrains and iodized salt through the public distribution system (PDS) outlets across the State on a very nominal rates for the people below poverty line (BPL)," said Soren.

The chief minister also promised to revise the list of BPL families in the light of allegations about serious irregularities in it. Block development officers and the block supplies officers would be asked to personally monitor the process so as to eliminate the chances of discrepancies in the list. The process of BPL list revision would be completed in the next three months.

Iterating his government's resolve accelerate industrial growth in the State, Soren and his deputy Sudesh Mahto said that the government would soon review the existing industrial policy and amend its certain clauses to make it more friendly for land doners. "The government would extend all cooperation to industrial houses to set up their plants. They, however, also need to take care of the interests of the local people as well," they stressed.