New Delhi: Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy today met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Delhi to discuss various issues regarding his state, including special state status, pending funds from the Centre, and his intervention in clearing dues with neighbouring Telangana. He requested the PM to expedite work on several issues that are pending even nine years after the bifurcation of the state.
He also met Union Home Minister Amit Shah later to discuss the same.
In a memorandum submitted to the Prime Minister, Mr Reddy requested his attention to several bilateral issues that are pending between Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. He reminded the PM that a committee headed by the union finance secretary, which was constituted on the issues mentioned in the Andhra Pradesh Repartition Act, has already made several rounds of discussions, but some issues remain unsolved.
Mr Reddy said ₹ 36,625 crore is pending under the resource gap funding for the financial year 2014-15, and demanded its immediate release. He also asked for the debt ceiling of ₹ 42,472 crore, which was provided in 2021-22 and reduced by ₹ 17,923 crore during the Covid pandemic, to be enhanced.
“State borrowing limits are now restricted because the previous government used borrowing beyond the limit. Although this government is not at fault, they have also reduced the loan limit given as per the norms,” the memorandum said.
Further, Chief Minister Reddy requested the Prime Minister to sanction ₹ 10,000 crore in an ad hoc manner to advance Polavaram project rapidly, besides immediately approving ₹ 55,548 crore for the same project as estimated by the Technical Advisory Committee, including treating drinking water supply component as a part of it.
“I appeal that the Polavaram project flood victims be compensated as soon as possible. I would like to bring to your notice that as the delay increases, the cost of the project increases. Delays can be avoided if this assistance is provided to flood victims in a DBT manner,” the Chief Minister said.
He appealed to PM Modi to accept the Technical Advisory Committee’s revised estimates of ₹ 55,548 crore on the Polavaram Project, treat the drinking water supply component as its part and parcel and release ₹ 10,000 crore immediately on an ad hoc basis to expedite the construction.
He also demanded reimbursing the ₹ 2,600.74 crore arrear incurred by the state government on the Polavaram project.
Mr Reddy called for a speedy release of dues from the Telangana government, especially ₹ 7,058 crore outstanding from the neighbouring state’s DISCOMS to APGENCO for the power supplied between 2014 and 2017.
According to Mr Reddy, faulty selection of beneficiaries under the National Food Security Act had compelled the state to incur a financial burden of ₹ 5,527 crore for supplying rations to 56 lakh families under PMGKAY.
“To compensate for this, unused ration stocks should be allotted to Andhra Pradesh as recommended by NITI Aayog,” he added.
Among other demands, the chief minister appealed to PM Modi to grant permission for 12 medical colleges in the state for which clearances were pending, allot required mines to APMDC to cater to the raw material needs of the steel plant in YSR Kadapa district and grant special status to Andhra Pradesh as promised by the Centre in Parliament.
