Centre is getting ready to rustle up a financial package for the state of Andhra Pradesh to be announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi very soon.
Highly placed sources in the state government told T-360 that the NITI Ayog has established contact with state planning department. A high level meeting with all the principal secretaries and special chief secretaries is expected to be held in mid September to discuss the various program of state government and schemes and projects which are in pipeline that need central assistance. The meeting will be on the lines of the one which erstwhile Planning Commission used to hold before the finalization of the state annual plan. The convention has now been discontinued after its scrapping. As the state wants some special assistance to extinguish the opposition rage in the state. So, NITI Ayog, which has been entrusted with the preparation of road map to channel the funds to the state of Andhra Pradesh, has begun the work in right earnest.
” Chief minister Chandrababu Naidu is said to have given free hand to centre with regard to nomenclature the method of funding. Whether you call it special package or special status, he seems to have Rs 2.25 lakh crore assistance to the state to overcome the difficulties thrown by the partition of the state. So, centre seems to have begun the exercise,” sources in the government said.
Indicating the pattern of the funding, the sources said, they would announce the package for the next 10 years starting from 2015-16. They will calculate the department wise regular allocation and add some additional granting to show a mind boggling figure as is the case of Bihar. Any figure between Rs 1.50 lakh crore and Rs.2.00 lakh crore , could be trumpeted up as massive assistance. And it would serve the political purpose,” the sources added.
Prime Minister is coming to Andhra on October 22, to lay foundation stones for Amaravati capital and Polavaram multipurpose national project.
