No official from Telangana attends Niti Aayog meet

HYDERABAD: After chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao decided not to participate in the meeting of governing council of Niti Aayog, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Delhi, none of the officers from the state attended the meeting. Earlier, there were reports that KCR would depute chief secretary SK Joshi or principal secretary of finance K Rama Krishna Rao to attend the meeting.
Officials said that various departments such as revenue, agriculture, municipal administration and home had prepared notes on the issues to be raised during the meeting. The Niti Aayog on Saturday discussed issues like rainwater harvesting, drought situation and relief measures, transforming aspirational districts as well as security-related issues with a specific focus on districts affected with left-wing extremism.
In the previous Niti Aayog meeting, KCR had sought more powers for the states, especially in sectors such as education, health and rural roads. This time he skipped the meeting and instead wanted to meet Modi separately and invite him for the inauguration of Kaleshwaram project on June 21and also seek financial support for various projects being implemented in the state like Mission Bhagiratha, Mission Kakatiya. He also wants to seek national status for Kaleshwaram project on the lines of Polavaram project.