VIJAYAWADA: The Union Home Ministry on Monday held a meeting with senior officials of both Telangana and Andhra Pradesh to review the status of educational institutions and infrastructure facilities assured to the State in the XIIIth Schedule of AP Reorganisation Act. Home Secretary Rajiv Gaba, who chaired the meet, reportedly cited feasibility studies, which had already ruled out the possibility of a railway zone in Visakhapatnam and a port at Dugarajaptnam, to a query on their status by AP Bhavan Resident Commissioner Praveen Prakash.
When contacted, Chief Secretary Dinesh Kumar told TNIE that the twin issues of railway zone and Dugarajapatnam Port were not within the jurisdiction of the Home Secretary, indicating that a political decision in this regard had to be taken by the Centre. “The meeting discussed Schedule XIII of AP Reoganisation Act. The progress of the institutions listed in the Schedule was reviewed,” he added, suggesting that it could be a prelude to another meeting to be chaired by the Home Minister.
The meeting, which began around 12 p.m, last for over two hours. On the proposed greenfield petrochemical complex in Kakinada, sources said, the feasibility report on the same was referred to the department of expenditure under the Ministry of Finance. The State government is not happy with the Centre’s insistence that it bear the viability gap funding running into thousands of crores on this project. Similarly, the Dugarajapatnam Port has been hanging fire with the Centre previously asking the State government to suggest an alternative location. At the meeting, the sources said, it was decided to refer the matter to the relevant department for exploring alternatives.
It is also learnt that the task of construction of the National Institute of Disaster Management on the outskirts of the Vijayawada has been entrusted to the NBCC (India) Limited and besides, it was felt at the meeting that the construction of permanent buildings for IIT and IIM in the State must be expedited.