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Centre relents, calls meet
The Union government has convened a meeting with the Chief Secretaries of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana to discuss the removal of irritants in the implementation of the promises made under the AP Reorganisation Act, on March 5 in New Delhi.
Hyderabad: The Union government has convened a meeting with the Chief Secretaries of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana to discuss the removal of irritants in the implementation of the promises made under the AP Reorganisation Act, on March 5 in New Delhi.
The Union Home ministry asked the Chief Secretaries of the two states to submit reports on the progress in the schemes sanctioned mainly in the 13th Schedule of the Act by the Centre.
Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh and PMO officials are likely to attend the meeting, which is being convened after a gap of three years with the two governments. The first meeting was held in 2015. Since then, the Centre has been postponing the second meeting on one pretext or the other.
The objective of holding the meeting is to ascertain the status of the promises made in the bifurcation Act and prepare an action plan to implement them before 2019 elections.
Telangana officials said the KCR government has been demanding allocation of required funds for the establishment of AIIMs (All India Institute of Medial Sciences), Horticulture and Tribal Universities and a steel plant at Bayyaram in the erstwhile Khammam district. Other demands include creation of a railway coach factory at Kazipet in the erstwhile Warangal district and improve rail connectivity in Telangana.
The state government will also raise the delay in the release of funds for the newly sanctioned national highways. The Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways approved the upgradation of national highway on a stretch of 2,500 km, but no funds have so far been released since 2016.
Officials said the Centre has also assured the establishment of rapid rail and road connectivity from the new capital of Andhra Pradesh to Hyderabad and other important cities in Telangana. All these issues will be discussed in detail with the Union government and mount pressure for the speedy disposal.
As regards Andhra Pradesh, the Naidu government has taken a confrontationist stand for the fulfilment of the promises, which include sensitive issue of creation of a railway zone with Visakhapatnam as headquarters, bridging the revenue deficit which the state had acquired at the time of bifurcation, funds for Amaravati, Polavaram and assistance for backward districts.
The ruling Telugu Desam Party has been bringing pressure on the Centre for action on these promises despite the fact that the alliance with the BJP might become a casualty in the process. The Centre, it is expected might look at AP's demands more sympathetically this time, which might solder the alliance which is showing signs of breaking up.
