When Union Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari meets Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao on Monday, he will also be taking up the prospects of developing an inland waterway from Jaikwadi in Maharashtra through four States where the Godavari flows so as to provide the vital sea transport link to Telangana.
“The waterway on the Godavari if taken up will be benefit Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, thereby also providing sea link to TS,” said senior BJP leader and Union Minister for Labour Bandaru Dattatreya here on Sunday.
At a press conference, he pointed out that the sea link will help the State Government to improve its trade and commerce activities. Mr. Gadkari will be participating in the foundation stone laying ceremony to expand the National Highway towards Warangal for a stretch of 1,800 km., costing up to Rs.25,000 crore.
Claiming that the Centre was in forefront in developing the State, he advised the State Government to have ‘cordial’ relations with the Centre in order to get ‘100 per cent’ cooperation in developing the State.
Lambasting the TRS leaders and Ministers for accusing the Centre of not backing the State, he said these are “baseless allegations” considering that almost all the schemes posed to the Centre have been cleared.
“Union Minister for Agriculture Radhe Mohan Singh is coming for the inauguration of Horticulture University and the other day he had agreed to provide drought relief assistance to the tune of Rs.3,000 crore. The Union Urban Development Ministry had already sanctioned 58,000 houses for the poor. We are ready to do more. All this is part of our commitment towards Telangana,” he said.
They should be a Lakshman Rekha between the Government and the party and the TRS leaders should maintain it, Mr. Dattatreya said.
The Union Minister called upon the State Government to come out with a solar power policy since the Centre is keen to sanction 5,000 MW worth power projects but the proposals were yet to be sent.
“Telangana is the surplus budget State after Gujarat, therefore if it spends the funds available, the Centre is ready to chip in anytime,” he said.
The Union Minister also criticised the Congress for politicising the Pathankot incident and for refusing to cooperate in taking forward the development agenda.
