Jagan Reddy meets Modi, seeks ₹17,144 crore for Polavaram phase-1 completion

Hyderabad: Andhra Pradesh chief minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy on Friday requested the Centre to release ₹17,144 crore required for the completion of the first phase of the Polavaram irrigation project.

The chief minister met Prime Minister Narendra Modi at his chamber in Parliament and discussed several issues related to the state in the hour-long meeting, an official release from the chief minister’s office (CMO) said.

Reddy’s meeting took place two days after his political opponent and TDP chief, Chandrababu Naidu, met home minister, Amit Shah, in New Delhi. The TDP leaders termed the meeting as “positive” over an alliance with the BJP for state assembly and Lok Sabha polls.

The CMO statement said Reddy brought to the PM’s notice that the Union finance ministry had agreed to lift the component-wise ceiling in the Polavaram project for release of funds. It has agreed to release ₹12,911 crores for the early completion of the first phase of the project.

“However, the chief minister said that the completion of the first phase of Polavaram will cost around ₹17,144 crores, and the proposal for this is already pending in the department of hydropower. He requested Modi to see that the revised proposal be approved immediately,” the statement said.

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The chief minister also sought the Prime Minister’s intervention to ensure that the Telangana government pay ₹7,230 crore power bill arrears to AP Genco for the electricity supplied to the neighbouring state for three years from June 2014.

Reddy reiterated the state government’s demand for granting special category status as promised at the time of division of the state. He said that special category status was necessary for the state’s economic progress as it will not only attract investments but also create employment opportunities.

Reddy brought to the PM’s attention that the number of districts had now gone up to 26 due to the reorganisation of 13 erstwhile districts. The state government had established 17 new medical colleges and classes had begun in some colleges. He requested that the Centre provide adequate support for establishing colleges.

Reddy requested Modi to provide support for the 55 km 6-lane road connecting Bhogapuram, Bhimili, Rushikonda and Visakhapatnam ports. He requested the PM to approve the Visakhapatnam Metro Rail project as soon as possible.

He requested the extension of the Visakhapatnam-Kurnool High Speed Corridor to Bangalore via Kadapa as mentioned in the bifurcation act.