Help execute capital shift: Jagan to PM

New Delhi: Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi here on Friday to plead for his favourable disposition towards 'Visakhapatnam' as the new capital of Andhra Pradesh and a suitable legal intervention in the Supreme Court in this regard.

It may be recalled that the Chief Minister has been insistent on shifting the Executive Capital to Visakhapatnam this year, preferably from July 1. Even at the recent investors' meet, he declared the same unmindful of the litigation going on in the Supreme Court. Sources stated that he explained the advantages of the new capital to the Prime Minister in detail to seek his nod.

Later in his meeting with Union Home Minister Amit Shah in the afternoon too, the CM is said to have raised the issue seeking the former's approval for the move. It may be mentioned here that the move also involves establishing the 'Judicial Capital' at Kurnool. In his appeal to the Prime Minister, sources said, the Chief Minister urged the PM to expedite several issues pending for the last nine years after the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh.

In a memorandum submitted to the Prime Minister, Jagan reminded him that some key issues remained unsolved despite several rounds of discussions held by the special committee constituted under the Chairmanship of the Union Finance Secretary to attend to a plethora of issues mentioned in the AP Reorganization Act.

He urged the Prime Minister to release the pending amount of Rs 36,625 crore under Resource Gap Funding for the fiscal 2014-15 and enhance the credit limit of Rs 17,923 crore which was reduced from Rs 42,472crore post-Covid-19 pandemic, besides reimbursing the arrears of Rs 2600.74 crore incurred by the state government on the Polavaram Project.

He also appealed to the Prime Minister to accept the Technical Advisory Committee's estimates of Rs 55,548 crore for the Polavaram Project and treat the drinking water supply component as a part and parcel and release Rs 10,000 crore immediately on ad-hoc basis to expedite the construction besides paying compensation to the displaced persons. He requested for speedy steps to ensure that the Telangana government clears its dues of Rs 7,058 crore outstanding from the TS Discoms to the APGENCO for the power supplied between 2014 and 2017.

The Chief Minister told him that the state has so far incurred a financial burden of Rs 5,527 crore on supplying ration to 56 lakh families under the PMGKY due to irrational selection of beneficiaries under the National Food Security Act. To compensate this, unused ration stocks should be allotted to AP as recommended by the NITI Aayog, he said.

The Chief Minister further appealed to the Prime Minister to grant permission for 12 medical colleges in the state for which clearances were pending. He pleaded for allotment of required mines to APMDC to cater to the raw material needs of the steel plant in YSR Kadapa district and grant Special Status to AP as promised in Parliament by the Centre.