Nothing new for Andhra Pradesh in Arun Jaitley's fresh package
Centre did not accept a single demand of AP, according to the details of the SAM that were announced on Thursday.
Hyderabad: The Special Assistance Measure (SAM) that the Centre announced for AP late on Wednesday night has only the schemes that are already being implemented in the state. The Centre did not accept a single demand of the AP government, according to the details of the SAM that were announced on Thursday.
The Centre made it clear that for the construction of the capital city Amaravati, Rs 1,000 crore more would be paid in due course. On the Polavaram Project, the Centre said it would provide 100 per cent of the remaining cost of the irrigation component. The state has to bear expenditure relating to power and drinking water.
The SAM does not mention Centrally-sponsored schemes to be funded at the rate of 90:10 ratio as demanded by the state government. The Centre said the decision was taken on the recommendations made by Niti-Aayog vice-chairman Arvind Panagariya who had studied various aspects of the support to be given to AP under the Reorganisation Act. The Centre said that following the recommendations of the 14th Finance Commission, the class of special category states had ceased to exist.
Centre mum on aid to districts
The Centre agreed to give the special assistance measure to AP for five years, which would make up for the additional Central share the state might have received from 2015-16 to 2019-20. This would be in the form of the Centre funding externally aided projects for Andhra Pradesh, signed and disbursed during these years.
The Centre did not mention the state government’s demands on sanction of Rs 500 crore per year for the next five years in the absence of sanctioning industrial investments to the state, sanction of separate railway zone to AP, Visakhapatnam as headquarters, financial assistance to metro rail projects in Vijayawada and Visakhapatnam and delimitation of Assembly constituencies, from 175 to 225.
The Centre said the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs had given in-principle approval for the establishment of a major port at Durgarajapatnam on PPP basis, subject to feasibility. The proposals of the Steel Authority of India, Indian Oil Corportion or HPCL to set up units in AP were being examined as provided in the Reorganization Act.