PMO queries perplex AP

Amaravati: The first signs of Centre’s meltdown, in the face of a prolonged agitation by the Telugu Desam Party, are now visible with the Prime Minister's Office inquiring if the state has any big-ticket central projects ready for laying the foundation stone or for commissioning. 

The inquiry has set off speculation that Prime Minister Narendra Modi might pay a visit to AP to bring down the mercury level in the political barometer which has been shooting up after the Centre dished out very little for the state in its national budget for 2018-19 presented in Parliament on Feb 1. As Parliament will reassemble on March 5 after recess, it is expected that Modi might squeeze in some time even before that to visit AP.

The state government has received the information from Delhi when the Chief Minister was in a review meeting in the Secretariat on Friday. It is not yet clear why the Prime Minister’s Office had made the inquiries, but sources say that unless the Prime Minister intends to visit AP or for that matter any part of the country, the Prime Minister’s Office would not make such inquiries.

The sources said that the TDP chief wants to know if Modi has anything specific to offer to the state to prevent the opposition parties dubbing the entire exercise as a stunt intended to mislead the people that the state was going to get a basket of goodies at a time when there isn't any. 

Even as the TDP is finalising its strategy in taking its war into the friend -turned -enemy's camp for a fair deal for AP, the state government is circumspect in viewing the inquiries of the PMO as an indication of thaw in the Centre's attitude towards the state. 

The state, simultaneously, is continuing its preparations for the Feb 21 crucial meeting at Delhi between officials of the Centre and those of the state to iron out differences in perception on projects and try to remove  technical problems if any in sanction of funds to the state under special package.

The main hurdle for the package is finding out how the Centre could foot the bill of projects under special package up to 90 per cent without special category status being in force in the state. In normal circumstance, the centrally-sponsored schemes are allotted to the states with funding ratio of 60:40 but to raise the ratio to 90:10, the Centre faces the legal hurdle as there is no sanction for the Centre to bear the extra burden without any statutory provision.

According to sources, the Chief Minister has asked the officials to be thorough with the details of what the state should get from the Centre with facts so that it becomes easy for the officials in putting forth a cohesive and convincing argument for more hand-holding for the state.

"The Chief Minister wants the officials to prepare a well-documented report and base their arguments on it when they present AP's case before the Centre," one source said.

By: R Pridhviraj