New UP Speaker to be elected on May 18

Newly-elected members of the Uttar Pradesh Vidhan Sabha will elect a new Speaker on May 18, a day after they are administered oath in the house.

This decision was taken at a Cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Mayawati on Monday, Cabinet Secretary Shashank Shekhar Singh told media persons in Lucknow.

The first session of the assembly will begin from May 21.

The Cabinet has also approved the appointment of Jyotindra Mishra as the state's new advocate general.

Uttar Pradesh Development Council, headed by Samajwadi Party leader Amar Singh was also formally scrapped in Mayawati's first cabinet meeting after she assumed reins of the state for the fourth time.

The cabinet secretary said the government had decided to make only necessary transfers of officers this year as the root cause of corruption was the transfer industry. In future, the chief minister would transfer officers of principal secretary/additional director general (of police) level only while transfers of others would be done through their respective service boards, Shekhar said.

The proposal of transfers would be prepared by the service boards and finally approved by the cabinet secretary so that the chief minister can concentrate on important issues, he said, claiming this is the first time that such a decision has been taken by any state government.

The Cabinet also decided to scrap appointments made during Mulayam Singh Yadav's regime, including chairmen/vice chairmen of various corporations, he said.