Naidu seeks funds for Seema north Andhra

New Delhi: Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Sunday met Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and briefed him about the importance of Pattiseema Lift Irrigation Project. The state government intends to complete the project within a year at a cost of Rs 1,300 crores. However it drew criticism from the YSR Congress but Naidu criticised Y S Jaganmohan Reddy for raking up a non-issue out of Pattiseema and wondered why he was visiting the national capital. 

He alleged that Jaganmohan Reddy was visiting New Delhi only to exploit his position as the Opposition party leader and to get advantage in connection with corruption charges against him. Chandrababu Naidu told media that he met Arun Jaitley to reiterate the state’s demand for more funds and special status but particularly this time he asked for funds to the backward districts of Rayalaseema and north coastal Andhra Pradesh. 

The Centre had approved Rs 350 crores to these districts so far. Expressing happiness over the funds released by the Centre to the state, Rs 8,216 crores, by the end of the last financial year for various projects and schemes, he said that his government would continue to mount pressure on the Centre until level-playing field was achieved. He said that he was confident of getting funds from the Centre as the CAG report also cited that the state needs funds because it is a revenue-deficit state and also needs to build capital and Polavaram Project. The Chief Minister expressed his dissatisfaction over the TRS government imposing entry tax on vehicles from AP. 

He met Arun Jaitley on his second day in the national capital after attending the Conference of Chief Justices of High Courts and Chief Ministers of States organised by the Ministry of Law and Justice. He was accompanied by Union ministers Ashok Gajapathi Raju and Y Sujana Chowdary, and AP special representative K Ramamohan Rao. In the morning, he participated in the birth anniversary of Babu Jagjivan Ram at the Dr Ambedkar auditorim in AP Bhavan. He left for Hyderabad by a special flight in the evening.

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