State govt prepares fact sheet to counter BJP

Amaravati: The state government prepared a fact sheet on the status of assurances, institutions, projects covered under AP Reorganisation Act, rejecting the arguments of BJP in its note released by the party.

The government said in the fact sheet though the Union government has to release the entire balance of revenue deficit of Rs 16,078.76 crores as certified by the accountant general, it has not done it yet. The Centre released Rs 3,979.50 crore so far and indicated that entitlement of the state government is Rs 4117.89 crores and the balance that would be released is Rs 138.39 crores only.

The Centre disallowed expenditure of Rs 11,960.87 crore incurred by state treating it as New Schemes. As against this fact, the state government said BJP had claimed in the note that the Centre would bear all the revenue deficit for entire period of 2015 to 2020, a total of Rs.22, 113 crore as revenue deficit grant for the 5 year period.

Countering the argument of the BJP that financial support for new capital Rs 2,500 crore was paid  and Rs 1,000 crore would be paid in due course, the state government said the Centre released Rs 2,500 crore for creation of new capital,  including Rs.1,000 crore released for underground drain scheme of Guntur.

“Thus only Rs 1,500 crore. was released so far for the capital city and the Centre indicated that another Rs 1,000 crore only would be paid in the coming years,” the state government said.

The government also said that an amount of Rs 1,050 crore was released as special package for seven backward districts so far but, in Bundelkhand Package, an amount of Rs 7,266 crore was given.

Coming to Special Assistance Measure (Special Package), the BJP’s report stated that no distinction should be made between special and general category states.  

But the state government said it requested the Centre to provide Special Assistance at 90:10 ratio for externally-aided projects (EAP) as well as Centrally-Sponsored Schemes (CSS), as being given to Special Category Status states which tentatively comes to about Rs 20,010 crore as assistance from the Centre.

The AP also requested permission to clear other outstanding loans towards EAPs, Small Savings and NABARD, borrow from internal lenders like NABARD, HUDCO, and other commercial banks, use the gap to pay interest commitments to the Centre, NABARD and EAPs and consider not to make the Special Assistance as a part of state’s FRBM limit.

“The entire issue has been in pending with the Centre,” the state government said. The government also said the request of the Chief Minister for intervention of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to direct the concerned for early approval of the revised cost of Polavaram project has also yet to be fulfilled.

The AP government also argued that five of total seven national institutions sanctioned to the AP were still running in temporary buildings and one institute is running in Kanchipuram of Tamil Nadu. The Centre did not approve two institutes till now and released meagre amounts to the five institutes.

The promises made by Centre regarding highways, power, railways, coal, industries, communications and IT, urban development and others were not fulfilled yet.