VIJAYAWADA: Andhra Pradesh failed to get several of its proposals included in the Union Budget 2023. No fund has been earmarked for the Polavaram irrigation project as also for fulfilling the pending bifurcation assurances. The Budget also had no mention of the railway corridor.
Notably, however, the Central Budget earmarked Rs 47 crore for AP Central University, Rs 168 crore for the Petroleum University, Rs 683 crore for Visakhapatnam Steel Plant, Rs 37 crore for the Tribal Universities of AP and TS, Rs 6,835 crore for 22 AIIMS hospitals of India including the AIIMS Mangalagiri.
YSR Congress MPs Mithun Reddy, Margani Bharat and Mopidevi Venkataramana expressed dissatisfaction over the way the Budget did not consider the state’s plea. “We will fight for Special Category Status, fulfillment of the bifurcation assurances, Polavaram etc in the ongoing Parliament Session,” they said.
A sum of Rs 41,338 crore was shown as AP’s share in central taxes and Rs 21,479 as TS’s share.
Mithun Reddy said there was no mention of the bifurcation assurances despite the passing of nine years since 2014. Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy had raised the issue of non-fulfillment of the bifurcation promises in a recent meeting he had with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Visakhapatnam.
The MP lamented that there were no special allocations to the backward districts. The Chief Minister had made many requests to the PM and finance minister regarding Polavaram but these did not help.
Rajya Sabha member Mopidevi Venkataramana said that the Centre has prioritised the promotion of agriculture, small and medium scale industries, housing for the poor, fisheries, PMMS Y (Pradhana Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana) etc in the Budget. He affirmed, “Achieving Special Category Status is our main agenda for which we will fight till the end.”
MP Margani Bharat expressed disappointment that AP has nothing special in the Budget 2023. “CM Jagan is setting up 18 new medical colleges in the state. Of these, the Centre is giving funds to only three and we are seeking funds for the other MCs too.”
He said a third line should be given to Visakhapatnam-Vijayawada. “The Kovvuru-Bhadrachalam railway line has been pending for many years. Laying of this line will cover a distance of 70 km from Hyderabad/Secunderabad.”
He sought funds for Visakhapatnam-Chennai industrial corridor.
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