CM Revanth urges Centre to release pending grants immediately

New Delhi: Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy has urged Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to immediately release the pending grant of Rs1,800 crore to the backward districts of Telangana as per the AP Reorganisation Act.

The Chief Minister called on Nimala Sitharaman at her chambers in the Parliament on Friday. He discussed with the Union Minister the grant which is to be received from the Centre for the development of the backward districts and reminded the Centre agreed to release a grant of Rs 450 crore to nine districts every year under the Reorganisation Act.

Revanth Reddy further appealed to Nirmala Sitharaman to release the pending grant of Rs1,800 crore for the years - 2019-20, 2021-22, 2022-23, and 2023-24.

The Chief Minister apprised the Union Minister of the management of High Court, Raj Bhavan, Lokayukta, State Human Rights Commission, Judicial Academy, and other public institutions in Hyderabad by the State government after the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh.

The State government has already spent Rs703.43 crore for the management of the respective institutions until the completion of the division of the institutions. He informed the Union Minister that Andhra Pradesh owed Rs408.49 crore as its share to the Telangana State and the AP government agreed to pay the amount and the Union Home Ministry also wrote a letter to AP to pay the amount to Telangana. However, the Andhra Pradesh did not clear the due till date, Revanth Reddy explained.

The Chief Minister pleaded with the Union Minister to issue orders to Andhra Pradesh for the payment of Rs408.49 to Telangana with interest.

Revanth Reddy also brought to the notice of Nirmala Sitharaman the orders issued unilaterally by the union government for the recovery of Rs2,547.07 crore as Telangana share from the loans borrowed as foreign financial assistance for the projects taken up in the erstwhile Andhra Pradesh.

The Chief Minister said the Telangana government already registered a strong protest in this regard, but the Centre did not accept the plea to relieve Telangana from the payment burden and requested the Union Minister to review the matter again and take a proper decision.

The Chief Minister reminded the Union Finance Minister that the union government allocated all the funds related to Centrally Sponsored Schemes only to Andhra Pradesh in 2014-15.

Revanth Reddy told the Union Minister that out of that amount, Rs495.20 crore has to be transferred from AP to Telangana on the basis of population in the Reorganisation Act. He appealed her to intervene in the matter and release the funds due to Telangana. The AP government did not

respond positively despite repeated requests to the Accountant General and Andhra Pradesh, Revanth Reddy said.

Seeks setting up of Integrated Coach Factory in Kazipet

Meanwhile, the Chief Minister has appealed to Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw to set up an integrated railway coach factory in Kazipet in Telangana.

The Chief Minister met the Railway Minister on Friday and explained that the AP Reorganisation Act clearly mentioned the establishment of a coach factory in Kazipet.

Referring to the recent announcement of Railways that stated that a Periodic Overhauling POH) workshop is being set up in Kazipet, the Chief Minister said the establishment of a coach factory in Kazipet is not just a dream of Kazipet people, but also the entire Telangana.

He requested the Railway Minister to construct a new railway line between Vikarabad-Krishna station as the proposed railway route would connect the backward areas of South Telangana, such as Parigi, Kodangal, Chitlapalle, Tekalkod, Ravulapalle, Mathur, Daulatabad, Damaragidda, Narayanapet and Maktal.

The new railway line will also help for the development of cement clusters and other industries near Tandoor. Moreover, the proposed railway network will also help to reduce the distance between Vikarabad

Junction and Krishna station by 70 km, Revanth Reddy explained.

The Chief Minister requested the Railway Minister to sanction a new rail route between Kalwakurti and Macharla.

The proposed rail route from Kalwakurthi via Vangur-Kandukuru-Devarakonda-Chalakurthi-Tirumalagiri to Macharla will connect the proposed Gadwal-Dornakal and the existing Macherla routes. The new railway network will benefit the Cement industry and for the purchase of forest products, providing the better connectivity between Secunderabad,Guntur and Dhone junctions and easy travel for devotees visiting the famous spiritual town Srisailam, he explained.

The Chief Minister urged Ashwini Vaishnaw to reconsider the proposed rail routes of Dornakal-Miryalaguda (Papatapalli-John Pahad) and Dornakal- Gadwal. These two rail routes pass through fertile lands, sugarcane industries, granite industries, Siberian migratory bird center, India’s largest Buddhist stupa and Palair recreation areas in Khammam district, he said.

Revanth Reddy explained that the land prices in this area of Palair Assembly constituency are high and most of the farmers belong to BC, SC, ST and minority communities. The acquisition of valuable land in this place will become a burden for the Railway department.

Considering this, the railway lines should be changed from Dornakal to Vennaram-Mannegudem-Abbayipalem-Maripeda to Mothe by changing the proposed routes. These areas are completely backward. Moreover, there are also no railway lines either. The distance will also be reduced by 19 km compared to the previous routes, he said.

Revanth Reddy appealed to Ashwini Vaishnaw to reconsider the alignment of these two routes.

MPs Dr Kadiyam Kavya, Dr Mallu Ravi, Kunduru Raghuveer Reddy, Suresh Shetkar, Gaddam Vamsi Krishna, Chamala Kiran Kumar Reddy, and Anil Kumar Yadav also accompanied the Chief Minister.