The Union Government is going by the spirit of the A.P. Reorganisation Act and pursuing the possibility of sanctioning the pending projects, says MP K. Haribabu.
If it were to go strictly by the letter of the Act, the official committees constituted had termed the railway zone, the Dugarajapatnam port, and the Kadapa steel plant as not feasible, and the matter would have ended there, Mr. Haribabu said.
“But on all the issues, the Centre has been pursuing the possibility of sanctioning them to aid development in Andhra Pradesh,” he said at a press conference here.
Railway zone
It was because of the problems involved, the railway zone could not be declared.
“But I had got an assurance from the Railway Minister before my speech on the no-confidence motion that it would be sanctioned,” Mr. Haribabu said.
Similarly, in spite of the State government not suggesting an alternative for the Dugarajapatnam port, a three-member committee had been constituted by the Union Ministry to scout for a suitable site in the Andhra coast.
The Kadapa steel plant proposal was also being studied in a positive manner, he said.
Mr. Haribabu asserted that a petrochemical complex would come up in Kakinada, irrespective of whether the State government meets the viability gap fund requirement or not.
‘Constitute SPV’
He said the Central government was ready to give ₹17,500 crore of the ₹25,000 crore promised in lieu of Special Category Status if the State government formed a Special Purpose Vehicle.
To overcome the technicalities, if any, Mr. Haribabu said he would request the Finance Minister to write a letter, asking the State government to form an SPV.
The tag ‘SCS’ may not be there, but all the benefits under it would be given, he reiterated. Though 10 years of time was specified for launching various institutions, 10 of the 11 had already come into being, he pointed out.
Whether Visakhapatnam would get Information Technology Investment Region (ITIR) would be known only after the Union Government finalised the policy, he said in reply to a question.
On the Chief Minister stating that his fight would continue, Mr. Haribabu said every political party had its own agenda.