To review various long-pending Centre-State coordination issues, particularly those listed in the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2014, the Centre has convened a meeting today with the AP officials to discuss the completion of various projects. The issues include setting up of an integrated steel plant in the state and a greenfield crude oil refinery and petrochemical complex in Kakinada.
The Union cabinet Secretariat, in a communication, informed the State government that issues related to departments like Steel, Water Resources, Petroleum and Natural Gas, Civil Aviation, Environment and Forests, Industry and Internal Trade and Defence Research and Development will be reviewed through a videoconference at 3.30 pm today.
Though the previous TDP government and the present YSRCP government have made repeated representations to the Centre on fulfilling the promises made under the AP Reorganisation Act, 2014, several issues did not make any headway in the last seven years.
“Several major promises incorporated in the Bifurcation Act have not been fulfilled yet, important among them are the setting up of an integrated steel plant in Kadapa district and a greenfield crude oil refinery and petrochemical complex (in Kakinada). These two will be among the 13 issues that will be taken up for review in Monday’s meeting,” State officials elaborated
This is the first time the Centre is convening such a high-level official meeting to discuss the long-pending issues and the State government is hopeful of some headway in fulfillment of the assurances.
The issues that will come for review include conducting a public hearing in neighbouring Odisha and Chhattisgarh related to the Polavaram multi-purpose project, rescinding the stop-work order on the Polavaram project, setting up of a Petroleum University in Visakhapatnam, developing Vizag-Chennai Industrial Corridor, expanding airports in Visakhapatnam, Vijayawada and Tirupati to international standards, according to the Cabinet Secretary’s letter.
Apart from these, the issue related to acquisition of land by the Naval Science and Technological Laboratory, Visakhapatnam, for house plots, illegal constructions in Madhavadhara village near Visakhapatnam, construction of road through NSTL connecting NH-16 and Gopalapatnam and handing over of equivalent land to NSTL are also listed in the agenda.
The issue of setting up a new port in the State, however, has not been listed in the meeting’s agenda though it was one of the promises made in the Act. It remains to be seen how the Centre will help AP prosper by resolving these issues, leading to its development which is very crucial at a time when investments have exited Andhra Pradesh under the Jagan government.
