CM Revanth Reddy meets Nirmala Sitharaman; Urges release of Rs.1,800 Cr
New Delhi: Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy on Friday urged Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to immediately release the pending grant of Rs.1,800 crore to the backward districts of Telangana as per the AP Reorganization Act.
He met Nimala Sitharaman at her chambers in the Parliament on Friday and discussed about the grant which is to be received from the Centre for the development of the backward districts and reminded the Centre agreed to release a grant of Rs.450 crore to nine districts every year under the Reorganization act.
The Chief Minister appealed to Nirmala Sitharaman to release the pending grant of Rs. 1,800 crore for the years - 2019-20, 2021-22, 2022-23, and 2023-24. He apprised the Union Minister of the management of High Court, Raj Bhavan, Lokayukta, State Human Rights Commission, Judicial Academy, and other public institutions in Hyderabad by the State government after the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh.
The State government has already spent Rs.703.43 crore for the management of the respective institutions until the completion of the division of the institutions. The Chief Minister informed the Union Minister that Andhra Pradesh owed Rs.408.49 crore as its share to Telangana.
The AP government agreed to pay the amount and the Union Home Ministry also wrote a letter to AP to pay the amount to Telangana. However, the Andhra Pradesh government did not clear the due till date.
Revanth Reddy pleaded with the Union Minister to issue orders to AP for the payment of Rs.408.49 to Telangana with interest. He also brought to the notice of Nirmala Sitharaman the orders issued unilaterally by the Union government for the recovery of Rs.2,547.07 crore as Telangana share from the loans borrowed as foreign financial assistance for the projects taken up in the erstwhile Andhra Pradesh.
The Chief Minister said that the Telangana government already registered a strong protest in this regard but the Centre did not accept the plea to relieve Telangana from the payment burden and requested the union minister to review the matter again and take a proper decision.
He reminded the Union Finance Minister that the Union government allocated all the funds related to Centrally Sponsored Schemes only to Andhra Pradesh in 2014-15 and informed that the Union Minister that out of that amount, Rs.495.20 crore has to be transferred from AP to Telangana on the basis of population in the Reorganization Act and appealed to intervene in the matter and release the funds due to Telangana.
The AP government did not respond positively despite repeated requests to the Accountant General and Andhra Pradesh. Earlier, Revanth Reddy met Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw and appealed to him to set up an integrated railway coach factory in Kazipet in Telangana. He met the Union Minister and explained that the AP Reorganisation Act clearly mentioned the establishment of a coach factory in Kazipet.
The railways recently announced that a Periodic Overhauling (POH) workshop is being set up in Kazipet. After that, the State government wrote a letter requesting the establishment of a coach factory. The establishment of a coach factory in Kazipet is not just a dream of Kazipet people, but also the entire Telangana, he said
The Chief Minister requested the Railway Minister to construct a new railway line between Vikarabad-Krishna stations. The proposed railway route will connect the backward areas of South Telangana - such as Parigi, Kodangal, Chitlapalle, Tekalkod, Ravulapalle, Mathur, Daulatabad, Damaragidda, Narayanapet, Maktal.
The new railway line will also help for the development of cement clusters and other industries near Tandoor. The new railway network will also help to reduce the distance between Vikarabad Junction and Krishna station by 70 km.
Revanth Reddy requested the Railway Minister to sanction a new rail route between Kalwakurti and Macharla. The proposed rail route from Kalwakurthi via Vangur-Kandukuru-Devarakonda-Chalakurthi-Tirumalagiri to Macharla will connect the proposed Gadwal-Dornakal and the existing Macherla routes. This new railway network will benefit the cement industry and for the purchase of forest products.
The network will provide connectivity between Secunderabad, Guntur and Dhone junctions and easy travel for devotees visiting the famous spiritual town Srisailam. The Chief Minister urged Ashwini Vaishnaw to reconsider the proposed rail routes of Dornakal-Miryalaguda (Papatapalli-John Pahad) and Dornakal-Gadwal. These two rail routes pass through fertile lands, sugarcane industries, granite industries, Siberian migratory bird center, India's largest Buddhist stupa and Palair recreation areas in Khammam district.
He explained that the land prices in this area of Palair assembly constituency were high and most farmers belonged to BC, SC, ST and minority communities. The acquisition of valuable land in this place will become a burden for the Railways. Considering this, the Chief Ministerrequested for the railway lines to be changed from Dornakal to Vennaram-Mannegudem-Abbayipalem-Maripeda to Mothe by changing proposed routes.
The distance will also be reduced by 19 km compared to the previous routes, he said, appealing to Ashwini Vaishnaw to reconsider the alignment of these two routes.
