Amaravati, Aug 6 : The Andhra Pradesh Cabinet on Wednesday approved the scheme for free travel for women in APSRTC buses from August 15.

The Cabinet meeting presided over by Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu put its stamp of approval on the scheme to fulfill another promise made in the elections last year.

As part of the coalition government's 'Super Six' promises, the 'Stri Shakti' - free bus travel will be launched on Independence Day.

The implementation of this scheme will cost Rs 162 crore per month, approximately Rs 1,942 crore per year, benefiting about 26.95 lakh people daily in the state.

In the state's population of 5.25 crore, there are 2.62 crore women. Under this scheme, women, girls, and transgenders belonging to the state will be eligible to travel free of charge from anywhere to anywhere.

They can travel on PalleVelugu, Ultra Pallevelugu, City Ordinary, Express, Metro Express services. To avail this facility, they need to show Aadhaar, Voter, or Ration cards as ID proofs.

This scheme does not apply to non-stop interstate bus services or any other categories. Similarly, it does not apply to contract carriage services, chartered services, and package tours.

The beneficiaries can travel in 6,700 buses or 74 per cent of all APSRTC buses.

This year, measures have been taken to purchase an additional 3,000 electric buses, and in the next two years, another 1,400 electric buses will be purchased.

The government said it while implementing this scheme, it would place great emphasis on the safety of women and girls by providing body cameras to female conductors and installing CC cameras in buses.

Through the implementation of this scheme, in addition to the 16.11 lakh people already using transport services, an estimated 10.84 lakh more people will have the opportunity to use them. About 1.42 crore women are likely to will utilize free bus facility annually.

The Cabinet approved the proposal to extend the ban on Communist Party of India (Maoist), its front organisations, Revolutionary Democratic Front (RDF) as 'unlawful associations' under A.P. Public Security Act, 1992, (Act No. 21 of 1992) Section 3 and its sub-clauses for another year.

The government stated that despite the ban being in effect, the Communist Party of India (Maoist) is making intense efforts to use every opportunity available to them in Andhra Pradesh. The CPI (Maoist) continues destructive activities by targeting citizens as police informers, damaging government property especially in Alluri Sitarama Raju (ASR) district, along with their cadres from neighboring states Telangana, Odisha, and Chhattisgarh.

The Cabinet approved the proposal for AP Land Incentive for Tech Hub (LIFT) Policy (4.0) 2024-2029.

Under the policy, IT/ITeS companies, Global Capability Centers (GCCs) and IT park developers, fulfilling the criteria, will be allotted land for 99 paise per acre.

The Cabinet also approved the 2025-28 Bar Policy based on Cabinet Sub-Committee recommendations. The Cabinet Sub-Committee recommend a comprehensive excise policy draft after studying the current bar policy regarding practices followed in other states and stakeholder representations.

Under the new policy, bars will be allocated through lottery. This method will be followed only when at least four applications are received. Business hours have also been permitted from 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. Out of total 840 bars, 10 percent bars have been reserved for welfare of toddy workers at 50 per cent fees.

/IANS