Naidu wants Jaitley to meet budget deficit
Seeking Central funds and expeditious implementation of various provisions in the AP Reorganisation Act, including Special Category Status for Andhra Pradesh, Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu met several Union Ministers, including Arun Jaitley and Rajnath Singh in New Delhi on Thursday.
During his interaction with Mr. Jaitley, he urged the Centre to incorporate in this year’s budget provision for setting up national institutions such as IIT, AIIMS and IIM. He also wanted Rs.7,000 crore to be allocated for multi-purpose Polavaram project and wanted Central Government to fully bear the budget deficit of Rs.15,000 crore this year.
Quality power assured
Mr. Naidu told reporters after meeting Union Minister for Power, Piyush Goyal that an additional 500 MW would be allocated to Andhra Pradesh in the next couple of months. He said NTPC has agreed to allow its rail network to transport coal for generating additional electricity. The Chief Minister said round-the-clock power would be supplied for domestic and industrial sectors. Agricultural sector too would get quality power, he added.
Mr. Goyal said Mr. Naidu flagged off certain issues which are critical for the development of Andhra Pradesh. He said the Central and State Government have decided to work together in making Andhra Pradesh a model State in providing 24/7 power supply for every individual home, industries and commercial establishment. Simultaneously, farmers would get good quality of power.
Metro rail
Union Urban Development Minister, M. Venkaiah Naidu assured the Chief Minister of full help from the Centre in fulfilling various assurances. Mr.Chandrababu Naidu wanted the Union Government to sanction metro rail project linking Vijayawada, Guntur and Tenali, besides one for Visakhapatnam. He also sought an initial assistance of Rs.2,500 crore for the new capital and also sanctioning of some ‘Smart Cities’ to AP.
An official release said that Mr.Naidu discussed the proposals to set up a top class Petroleum University, LNG Terminal and Greenfield refinery in the State with Minister of State ( Independent Charge) Dharmendra Pradhan. The issue of setting up a gas grid and rationalising LPG connections with the help of IT-enabled database in Andhra Pradesh also came up for discussion.
To meet Modi today
Mr. Naidu also met HRD Minister Smriti Irani and a group of industrialists whom he invited to invest in the State. The Chief Minister is likely to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other Ministers on Friday.
