AP to demand dues from states in southern zonal council meet
The meeting chaired by the CM also resolved to pitch for Special Status provision to the state in the Council meeting
VIJAYAWADA: Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy instructed officials to ensure that key issues pertaining to the state should be brought up in the 29 Southern Zonal Council meeting, slated to be held in Tirupati on November 14. Reddy reviewed arrangements during a meeting at his camp office on Wednesday.
The Chief Minister said that they will be raising issues like arrears that are due to Andhra Pradesh from Tamil Nadu for the Telugu Ganga project, the Polavaram project, Rs 6,300 crore pending electricity arrears, revenue deficit, and arrears from Telangana State. The meeting also resolved to pitch for Special Status provision to the state in the Council meeting.
Reddy said that Union home minister Amit Shah would chair the meeting, which will be attended by his counterparts from Kerala, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Telangana and Puducherry and Lieutenant governors of Puducherry, Andaman and Nicobar and the administrator of Lakshadweep.
Officials informed that pending issues related to the State Formation Act have been included in the agenda along with the Polavaram project and power dues of Rs 6,300 crore. Also in the agenda was pending dues from Tamil Nadu, revenue shortfall, civil supplies arrears from Telangana State and rational allocation of PDS rice by the Centre.
The Chief Minister also sought to raise the issue of bringing the Jurala project under the purview of KRMB, interlinking of rivers, freezing of FD accounts, division of assets, among other key issues.
Ministers Mekathoti Sucharitha, Peddireddy Ramachandra Reddy, Buggana Rajendranath Reddy, chief secretary Dr Sameer Sharma, DGP Gautam Sawang, senior bureaucrats Poonam Malakondaiah, Karikal Valaven, Y Srilakshmi, SS Rawat, Muddada Ravichandra and TTD EO Dr KS Jawahar Reddy were present at the meeting.