Asserting that the nascent State of Andhra Pradesh has received unprecedented assistance during the 20 months of the Modi Government, State BJP president and Visakhapatnam MP K. Haribabu has said that the Centre would extend all possible assistance for completion of the Polavaram project by 2018.
“We are pursuing the definition given in the XI Plan that under national project 90 per cent funds should come from the Centre,” he told a press conference on the progress during the two years and his tenure as MP.
Mr. Haribabu said that the Central assistance for meeting the revenue deficit following bifurcation, for creating the new capital, and for backward North Andhra and Ralayaseema districts was a continuous process.
The fresh release under the three accounts was Rs.1,976.5 crore. The total assistance for meeting revenue loss so far was about Rs.4,000 crore.
On SCS, the MP said that all benefits would be ensured to the new State and an announcement would be made soon.
On the railway zone for the State with Visakhapatnam as headquarters, he said that the Union Minister was requested to sanction it looking from a political angle even if the official report was not favourable.
While new road and rail projects were announced for the State, the Anandapuram-Pendurti-Anakapalle access control road would be taken up at an estimated cost of Rs.2,200 crore and the Sheelanagar road linked to it under the Sagarmala project with an outlay of Rs.500 crore.
Prestigious institutionsMr. Haribabu said that only two institutions promised had to be set up. For the Central university at Anantapur and Girijan University at Vizianagaram, Parliament had to pass a Bill. IIM and Petroleum University had already started functioning.
Of the projects he envisaged in 2015-16, 90 per cent positive result had been obtained.
Institute of Foreign Trade and Institute of Packaging and Packaging Park had been relocated to East Godavari as the Petroleum University proposed there was shifted to Visakhapatnam, he said.
A beginning has been made on IT Incubation Centre, Maritime University, MSME Centre, Export Inspection Agency Laboratory, and SAMEER. The 4,000 MWe NTPC power plant was in for critical technology change, leading to delay.
He said a serious exercise would be launched to find a solution to drains emptying into the sea and the port channel following strong observations made by Union Minister Nitin Gadkari.
Mr. Haribabu did not respond to a question on whether BJP had groups – one working in tandem with the State government and another criticising it.
BJP Floor leader in the Assembly P. Vishnu Kumar Raju and city unit president P.V. Narayana Rao were present.
