Telangana chief minister A Revanth Reddy on Tuesday appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to grant national project status to Palamuru-Ranga Reddy lift irrigation project being constructed on Krishna river, as per the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2014.
CM Revanth, along with deputy CM Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka, who also holds the finance and planning portfolio, met the Prime Minister in New Delhi on Tuesday evening.
The CM submitted a memorandum to Modi, seeking liberal assistance from the Centre to the state and clearance of various pending projects.
Speaking to reporters in the Capital later, Vikramarka said the state government had reminded the Prime Minister that the Centre had promised to grant national project status to one irrigation project each in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, post bifurcation of the combined state, as per the AP Reorganisation Act.
“While the Centre has granted national project status to Polavaram major irrigation project on Godavari river, no such status was given to any of the irrigation projects in Telangana. We have requested PM Modi to grant national project status to Palamuru-Ranga Reddy lift irrigation scheme being constructed at a cost of ₹35,000 crore,” the deputy CM said.
He said the Centre was expected to release a special grant of ₹450 crore every year to Telangana from 2014-2015 to 2023-24 as per the AP Reorganisation Act. While the Centre has released ₹2,250 crore so far, it is yet to release another ₹1800 crore for the years between 2019-20 to 2023-24.
{{/usCountry}}He said the Centre was expected to release a special grant of ₹450 crore every year to Telangana from 2014-2015 to 2023-24 as per the AP Reorganisation Act. While the Centre has released ₹2,250 crore so far, it is yet to release another ₹1800 crore for the years between 2019-20 to 2023-24.
{{/usCountry}}“Similarly, the Centre is yet to release ₹2,233.54 crore towards devolution of central funds to Telangana as per 15th finance commission recommendations for 2022-23 and 2023-24. We requested the Prime Minister to see that the pending amount be released immediately for bailing out the state from financial crisis,” Vikramarka said.
The other points brought to the notice of the Prime Minister by the chief minister and his deputy are: upgradation of 12 state highways into national highways, permission for admissions into the Central Tribal University established by the Centre at Mulugu, establishment of a steel plant at Bayyaram in Khammam district and railway coach factory at Kazipet, as promised in AP Reorganisation Act, revival of Information Technology Investment Region (ITIR) project approved by the Centre way back in 2010, establishment of a green field mega textile park at Warangal and sanctioning of Indian Institute of Management (IIM) in Hyderabad and a Sainik School at Secunderabad.
“The Prime Minister responded positively to all our proposals. We hope there will be complete cooperation from the Centre for the development of Telangana,” Vikramarka said.