Minister Kollu Ravindra: Tag must for development of AP

Visakhapatnam: Participants at a roundtable meet held at Vizag as part of weeklong Nava Nirmana Deeksha felt that the Special Category Status is needed for the overall development of the AP which is left with budget deficit due to the state bifurcation.

They opined that the state was divided unscientifically with lot of financial deficit and to overcome the loss the Union government should accord special category status to the state. They also observed that there was a need to fight in the courts for AP’s rightful share in the common assets and other organisations now in Telangana.

Excise minister Kollu Ravindra who also took part in the meeting said AP having 58 per cent of population was given 47 per cent of the common state income and the Telangana state having 42 per cent population was given 53 per cent income. He deplored that due the budget deficit of Rs 16,000 crore AP has been facing financial crisis. He also observed that while the per capita income in TS stands at Rs 1.7 lakh its only Rs 97,000 in AP.

“To overcome the present crisis we need Union government’s help for filling the revenue deficit. To achieve special category status, railway zone for AP the state government is working with a strategy. Despite odds with the work of our dynamic CM N. Chandrababu Naidu we are all trying to bring overall development,” he said.