The Centre will release more than Rs. 10,000 crore to Andhra Pradesh by the end of March in accordance with the provisions in the AP Reorganisation Act, Union Minister of State for Science and Technology Y.S. Chowdhary said here on Sunday.
He added that AP had incurred a loss of Rs. 12,000 crore on account of bifurcation, while Telangana had gained by an equal amount. While Rs. 500 crore was released towards compensating the deficit, the Centre finally decided to provide a total of Rs. 7,500 crore to help the State meet the deficit this year.
In addition, Rs. 2,000 crore for the new capital, Rs. 1,900 crore due to the State under the 13{+t}{+h}Finance Commission, Rs. 750 crore towards CST compensation and a balance amount of Rs. 280 crore for Hudhud cyclone relief will be released this financial year. Also, a sum of Rs. 350 crore will also be released for the Polavaram project.
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Mr. Chowdhary said during 2015-16, too, a sum of Rs. 2,000 crore for the capital, Rs. 6,500 crore towards meeting budget deficit and Rs. 2,000 crore under the India Infrastructure Fund and other releases could be expected from the Centre.
On the relations between the BJP and the TDP and the recent disappointment expressed by Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu’s over the “poor” response from the Centre in helping AP, he said there were no issues between the two allies. He asserted AP was only fighting for its rights according to the provisions of the AP Reorganisation Act, and the promises made by former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in the Rajya Sabha. Even while maintaining that granting of Special Category status for AP was under the Centre’s consideration, he said an alternative mechanism was being worked out. Under the Special category status, the State will get funding in the form of 90 per cent grants and 10 per cent loans for various projects cleared by the Centre.