*DNS Report : P. Raja, Bureau Chief , New Delhi*

*New Delhi, Jan 03, 2022 (DNS Online):* Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Sri. YS jaganmohana Reddy Meets Prime minister of India Sri Narandra Modi today in his residence .Around one hour both are discursed sevaral issues on AP State Problames After bifarcation and CM submetted a mamorandam regarding AP issues to PM. At the time of state partition, 58 per cent of the population went to AP, while only 45 per cent went to revenue

In 2015-16, the per capita income of Telangana was Rs 15,454 while the per capita income of AP was only Rs 8,979.

These statistics alone are a testament to the state of the economy.

Geographically, Andhra Pradesh is larger than Telangana and has a

larger population.

In order to meet the needs of the people, it is necessary to provide the right services to them at the same level of expenditure.

AP also lost capital due to partition. We lost the infrastructure set up there.

There was a huge cost for them.

That is why many guarantees were given along with the guarantee of special status during the partition of the state. Implementing these will give you a lot of relief. But, most of the promises are still not fulfilled.

1. The cost of the Polavaram project has increased significantly due to the Land Acquisition Act of 2013. On April 1, 2014, the Union Finance Ministry announced in 2016 that it would fund the Polavaram project as expected.

Increased project costs after 2014 are not taken into account here. Apart from that, the expenses incurred in the form of irrigation 'component' till then are also excluded. As a result, the entire burden of increased project estimates falls on the state government. This is in stark contrast to the spirit set out in Section 90 of the Andhra Pradesh Redistribution Act. The cost will also increase over the years as construction of the project begins. The bulk of the project cost will have to be spent on the implementation of the Land Acquisition Act 2013. The law also requires packages to be extended to families who need to be evacuated from flooded areas. All these are also a serious burden to the state government. The refusal to provide funding to the extent that the revised estimates in the form of land acquisition, R&R, have

been approved by the Central Government agencies, would have severely hampered the project.

In addition, the Center says that only the irrigation part of the Polavaram project will be funded. Any water project has two types of components. One is irrigation and the other is electricity generation. Drinking water is an integral part of irrigation. This has been followed in the construction of any national project in the country till date. You must intervene in these matters and give appropriate directions. There is a risk that the cost will increase exponentially if the project is completely delayed. According to the 2017–18 price index, the estimated cost of polavaram should be estimated at Rs 55,657 crore. Apart from this, I want to direct the Finance Ministry to sanction the pending bills of Rs. 2100

crore for the construction of the Polavaram project.

2. On February 20, 2014, the then Prime Minister announced in the Rajya Sabha that he would cover the revenue deficit for the rest of Andhra Pradesh. He said the resource gap between the 14th Finance Commission recommendations and the implementation date would be filled by the 2014-15 Union Budget by the date of state partition. The CAG has estimated the resource gap between June 2014 and March 31, 2015 at Rs 16,078.76 crore. The central government then introduced a new method called standardized cost (standardized expenditure). It has limited the resource gap to just Rs 4,117.89 crore. As a result, the state government was unable to pay most of the bills and PRC arrears during the 2014-15 financial year due to lack of funds. Taking into account the bills

and other arrears due in 2014-15, the revenue deficit stood at Rs 22,948.76 crore. But the state government gave only Rs 4,117.89 crore. I want the state to stand by paying the remaining Rs 18,830.87 crore that has been pending for a long time.

3. AP Genco supplied power to Telangana power distribution companies after the partition of the state. Provided electricity from June 2, 2014 to June 10, 2017. The power was distributed as per the specific directions of the Central Government. For this, Rs 6,284 crore has to be paid. The Telangana discs also noted this. But so far no payments have been made. At the same time, AP power companies are struggling to meet their financial needs. We want to give appropriate directions to pay these bills. This will strengthen the AP power companies. That money will be used

to pay the bills.

4. The state is facing serious problems due to unreasonable approach in the identification of beneficiaries under the National Food Security Act. The number of beneficiaries in the state as part of the public distribution system under the National Food Security Act is 2.68 crore. Beneficiaries constitute 61 per cent of the population in rural areas and 41 per cent of the population in urban areas. If not, the Nationwide Public Distribution System (PDS) statistics show that at the national level, the average beneficiary is 75 per cent of the rural population and 50 per cent of the urban population. In the economically advanced states of Maharashtra, Karnataka and Gujarat, PDS beneficiaries are at least 10 per cent higher than in AP. Most eligible people are not covered under the National

Food Security Act. An additional 56 lakh people are being provided PDS by the state government itself. This is putting a burden on the state government. I urge you to conduct a comprehensive scrutiny of those living below the poverty line in the state and see to it that more beneficiaries are covered.

The state government has so far sent some proposals to the Union Ministry of Food and Consumer Affairs in this regard. Only 90 per cent of the food grains procured under the National Food Security Act are allocated. For example, in August 2021, only 21.54 lakh metric tonnes of rice was distributed. But the rice collected during that month was 24.4 lakh tonnes. About 3 lakh metric tonnes of rice is being saved per month. The additional allocation for widening the beneficiaries in AP is only 0.77 lakh tonnes. This

includes allocations to Gujarat, Maharashtra and Karnataka. We want you to intervene in this matter and make appropriate allocations.

5. The state is in serious financial trouble. Economic growth slowed across the country in 2019–20. As a result, tax revenue from the Center is declining. That revenue fell nearly 3.38 percent. It has recorded the lowest tax revenue from the Center in the last 2 decades. The situation became even more dire in the 2020–21 financial year due to the Kovid epidemic. People from all walks of life were severely affected. Many lives were lost. Revenues in the world have dropped significantly. There are situations where huge sums have to be spent to protect the health of the people. Private investments, their investment costs are reduced. Governments had to spend. This

limited economic progress. Governments have had to spend enormously to save the lives of the people. For this, India as well as various countries of the world had to incur huge debts. In 2020–2021, the central government owed 11 per cent of the country's GDP. The Center spent the money to protect the country's economy and public health.

The economic slowdown of 2019–2020 also had an impact on the AP. The share of taxes due from the Center to the State was Rs 34,833 crore but actually came to only Rs 28,242 crore. Kovid‌ conditions in 2020–21 severely hit the state economy. The loss on central taxes was Rs 7.780 crore. Even the Rs 7,000 crore due from the state revenue sources has not been received. In addition, about Rs 8,000 crore has been spent on Kovid prevention measures. In

addition to this, if the revenue lost by the people of the state is also taken into account, the loss will be in the thousands of crores. The state government believes that direct cash transfer schemes (DBTs) can only help people who have lost their livelihood in the face of such disasters. Despite the hardships, the state government did not deviate from its integrity. Implemented those schemes with a sense of dedication. Not only has the state government succeeded in putting money directly into the hands of the people, it has supported the people during the most crisis in a transparent manner without any corruption or bias. In addition, we have implemented various programs and infrastructure projects in the fields of medicine, education, agriculture, housing, etc. that can brighten the future of the

state.

6. The state government did its best to help the people during this crisis. No matter how many obstacles, no matter how many difficulties he did his part. 2021–22 The Central Government has set a ceiling of Rs. 42,472 crores. Subsequently, the Union Finance Ministry informed that it was reducing it to Rs 17,923.24 crore. It said it had adjusted the credit limit to take into account the high debts incurred during the previous government. It is not right to impose a cut in the debt limit in this way without our fault in these difficult circumstances. The request to extend the cut in the debt limit to three years was also not considered. We are reminded here that what we take is debt, not grants. We also make timely payments for loans taken. The imposition of cuts at this critical juncture will

worsen the state government's financial situation as the previous government had incurred heavy debts during their five-year tenure. The current limitations imposed by governments on getting the economy back on track by spending do not allow for such opportunities. I am submitting to your prior details regarding the fact that the State Government has not fully taken loans even within the credit limit given earlier than last five years. In view of this, I would like to request the Central Government to facilitate NBC to repay its debts to the extent of Rs. 42,472 crore as per the FRBM Act 2021–22.

7. I want to renew the site clearance approval for the construction of Bhogapuram International Airport. I would like to see a report from Mecon as soon as possible on the setting up of an integrated

steel plant in Kadapa district.

The AP government has set up the Vyassar Steel Corporation Limited to set up a steel plant to cater to the aspirations of the people of the region. To this end, we have appealed to the Union Ministry of Mines to allocate the mines to the AP Mineral Development Corporation, which is owned by the AP government. The Department of Mines says to participate in the auction process. The chances of finding mines at a lower cost are lower due to the auction process. I urge you to intervene in the matter of allotment of mines which is most crucial for setting up a plant in YSR Kadapa district. SBI Caps has been appointed as the transaction advisor for setting up the steel plant. SBI Cap has selected Essar Steels as its competitive bidder. SBI has also agreed in principle to the loan. The

long-cherished wish of the people of Rayalaseema will be fulfilled by being able to complete this process as soon as possible.