VIJAYAWADA: Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, who is scheduled to leave for Delhi to participate in the NITI Aayog Governing Council meeting on June 17, is likely to stage a protest at the national capital over the delay in setting up the Kadapa Steel Plant.
The Chief Minister has, in fact, written to the NITI Aayog seeking the postponement of the meeting to June 18 as he would have to stay in Amaravati for Eid Milap. The NITI Aayog has not replied yet. He will go to Delhi as scheduled if it doesn’t defer the meeting.
Highly-placed sources revealed to TNIE that Naidu, apart from raising the Centre’s failure to accord special category status to the state and implement provisions of the Andhra Pradesh State Reorganisation Act, would also voice his concern on the steel plant issue.
The Chief Minister is likely to stay back in Delhi after the meeting to meet Union Minister of Steel Chaudhary Birender Singh and participate in a dharna along with TDP MPs in the national capital, the sources said.
The Telugu Desam Party had on Wednesday accused the Centre of submitting an affidavit in the Supreme Court terming the proposed steel plant ‘prima facie not financially viable’.
The Ministry of Steel on Thursday clarified that it was making ‘sincere and relentless efforts’ to find a feasible solution to make the project financially viable.
The Ministry of Steel, in a press release, said the task force constituted by it on October 19, 2016, had held a series of meetings with both the Andhra Pradesh and the Telangana governments to discuss the controversial matter.
What could be the reason behind YSRCP & AP BJP MLAs meeting their Delhi Bosses secretly today?
1) #OperationGaruda
2) Jagan Cases Maafi
3) To Sell Telugu Self Respect
4) All the Above
Lokesh Nara @naralokesh
“The sixth and last meeting of the Task Force was held on June 12, 2018. Relevant data for the preparation of feasibility reports based on realistic assumptions is to be shared by State governments with MECON (CPSE under Ministry of Steel) entrusted with the task,” the Ministry said.
It indicated that the task force was examining the feasibility of establishing steel plants in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana by interested parties at Bayyaram and Kadapa. The body comprising representatives from the Central government, State government and Central Public Sector Enterprises under the Ministry of Steel was set up on October 19, 2016 to consider feasibility issues and prepare a roadmap for setting up steel plants, it observed.
“The Ministry of Steel is making sincere and relentless efforts in working out a feasible solution to make the project financially viable so as to bring about a positive and sustainable development in not only Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, but also the nation as a whole,” it explained.