Andhra Pradesh can't hold Central funds: Somireddy Chandramohan Reddy

Nellore: TDP politburo member Somireddy Chandramohan Reddy said that the state government has no right to stop funds released by the Centre and hence they were sending 10,000 request letters to the Vice President of India for clearing pending bills to the contractors who completed works under National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS). Addressing a press conference here on Tuesday, the former minister said even contractors in the Vice-President's own mandal were not paid for the works taken up under R-Urban Scheme.

Chandramohan Reddy alleged that officials kept the bills in pending saying that the legislator had objected to them even though they received funds from the Centre.

He said they were going to ask the Vice-President to utilise his powers for clearing the pending bills and added that the Centre should warn the state as was in the case of Power Purchase Agreements. The TDP leader said that the state government was yet to pay `170 crore to the farmers for the paddy procured three months ago. In Gudur and Godavari districts, farmers dues amount to ` 1,000 crore. He said there was no progress on the demand for probe into purchase of paddy at a lesser price and sale at higher price.