Huge hike in the salary of various categories of workers, 27 per cent interim relief to the government employees and implementation of cash assistance scheme for farmers were some of the major decisions taken at the first meeting of the new Andhra Pradesh Cabinet on Monday. The nearly six-hour long meeting, presided over by Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy, decided to increase the salary of community health workers under the Tribal Welfare Department from current Rs 400 to Rs 4,000 a month.

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This move is expected to benefit 7,265 health workers working in the Integrated Tribal Development Authority (ITDA), officials said. The Cabinet also approved a decision taken earlier to increase the salary of Accredited Social Health Activist (ASHA) workers from existing Rs 3,000 to Rs 10,000 a month. 

It also decided to pay a 27 per cent Interim Relief (IR) to government employees from July. The IR is to compensate the employees as the 11th Pay Revision Commission (PRC) is yet to submit its report. The monthly social security pension for aged, widows, and other beneficiaries was also enhanced from Rs 2,000 to Rs 2,250. 

The Cabinet decided to constitute a committee to decide on the proposal to merge the cash-strapped Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation (APSRTC) with the state government. It constituted another panel to scrap the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS), as promised by Jagan Reddy last week. Jagan Reddy, who took oath as the Chief Minister on May 30, inducted 25 Ministers, including five Deputy Chief Ministers on June 8.