Ahead of the presentation of Union Budget, Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao on Friday met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and presented a wish-list of Telangana’s demands. Conferring national status to Kaleswaram project, sanction of a special development package to Telangana with a Central grant of Rs 30,571 crore over four-year period (2015-19) and setting up of a Tribal University were important among the list of demands.
Making it official that Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Project has replaced Pranahita-Chevella Irrigation Project in tune with the changing priorities of TS, Rao urged the Centre to confer national project status on Kaleshwaram Project, proposed as part of reengineering of irrigation projects.
The Chief Minister told Modi that his government proposed to construct Kaleshwaram project with an estimated cost of Rs 71,436 crore. “Confer national project status on both Pranahita and Kaleshwaram integrated project”, Rao urged Modi.
The Pranahitha-Chevella project was conceived by the combined AP regime. After bifurcation, TS government redesigned and started reengineering of existing irrigation projects. As part of this, the government limited Pranahita Chevella to Adilabad and is now seeking national project status to Kaleshwaram Project.
Rao told Modi that Pranahita would be taken up at an expense of Rs 4,231 crore and Kaleshwaram with Rs 71,436 crore. He requested that integrated Kaleshwaram project comprising of the above two components may now be accorded the status of a National Project. National Project status means that the Centre would bear around 90 pc of the project cost.
AIIMS: The Chief Minister’s said that State government has identified 200 acres of land at Bibinagar, which is very close to Hyderabad on Warangal Highway and also located on the railway line to be used for suburban railway (MMTS) Route for establishing All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS).
Other Demands
TIFR: Give necessary clearances and funds for the proposed Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR) near Hyderabad Central University. The state allocated 209 acre land free of cost to TIFR. The TIFR Hyderabad campus envisaged with an investment of Rs 2,500 crore towards the project cost with a large built-up area.
More Power Plants
Rao called on Union Power Minister Piyush Goyal and urged him to speed up the power plants taken up by the Centre in the State. Goyal told reporters later that the NTPC Ramagundam with 4,000 MW and Manguru plant in Khammam with 1,080 MW would be made available by 2020.
Special Development Package: Give Special Development Package in accordance with Section 94(2) provision of AP Reorganization Act, 2014. The State had already submitted two proposals for Mission Bhagiratha and Mission Kakatiya for backward regions. Rao said that NITI Aayog has already recommended for the sanction of special package to Telangana. Rao requested that a Special Development Package to the State with a Central grant of Rs 30,571 crores over the four-year period of 2015-19 may be sanctioned and an amount of at least Rs 1,000 crore may be released during the current financial year (2015-16).
Tribal University: Set up Tribal University. 200 acre land identified near Warangal for the university.
Financial Issues: Raise FRBM limit from the current 3 per cent to 3.5 per cent over GSDP.
IPS Allotment: Increase the IPS cadre strength from the present 112 to 141.
Drought Mitigation: The state wants Rs 3,064 crore as drought assistance . The Centre earlier sanctioned Rs 791 crore.
Textile Park: Give 50 percent of the capital cost for the proposed Integrated Textile Parks (SITP) in Warangal.
Source: The New Indian Express