Buggana Rajendranath Reddy seeks Centre's support on Anrak arbitration
AP finance minister Buggana Rajendranath Reddy calls on Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman in New Delhi on Monday
New Delhi: State finance minister Buggana Rajendranath Reddy here on Monday met Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman along with the principal secretary of the state finance department S S Rawat, to seek her support in the Anrak Aluminium arbitration case.
The arbitration process will come up in London again this month.
Rajendranath Reddy explained to the finance minister the measures being taken by the AP government to give a boost to its developmental programmes. It may be recalled that the AP Mineral Development Corporation (APMDC) is fighting a case with regard to the international arbitration raised by Ras-Al-Khamah Investment Authorities (RAKIA) over the cancellation of the bauxite supply agreement and Anrak Aluminum Ltd.
The state government is of the view that the operations could be allowed if bauxite is transported from Odisha. The company ran into trouble with the government insisting on 'no-mining in AP' condition as the state government was against the mining per se but not against the operation of the aluminium refinery itself.
The repeated visits of state finance minister in this regard to Delhi are because the outcome of the arbitration is also dependent on the Union government's stand on the issue. Only a coordinated argument on behalf of the state and the Central governments would save the day for AP; otherwise, it might encounter a huge compensation problem.
RAKIA and Penna Group had jointly set up an alumina refinery near Makavarapalem in Vizag agency based on an MoU signed with APMDC to get bauxite from the agency area. However, with the previous TDP government cancelling the agreement in 2016 after deciding to ban bauxite mining in the agency, RAKIA went for international arbitration seeking compensation.
Rajendranath Reddy also discussed the issue of pending funds to the state and dues under various heads to seek Sitharaman's intervention.
He also met the Union ministers of state for finance, Bhagavat Kishan Rao Karad and Pankaj Chowdary.