HYDERABAD: Dropping a bombshell on Andhra Pradesh, the Centre has almost made it clear that special category status might not be accorded to the State. Union minister of state for planning Rao Inderjit Singh on Friday announced in the
Lok Sabha that the government could not accord special status for new States as the 14th Finance Commission has not recommended to the Centre to do so.
The minister, however, said the Centre would be taking appropriate measures, including offering of tax incentives, to promote industrialisation in both AP and Telangana as per the provisions of the AP Reorganisation Act, 2014.
In a written response to the questions raised by Kotha Prabhakar Reddy of TRS (Telangana) and Maganti Venkateswara Rao alias Babu of TDP (AP), Inderjit Singh stated that under the 14th Finance commission, no special status would be allowed to any new State in the country.
“After the recommendations of the 14th Finance Commission, there is no provision for giving special status to any State,” he added.
According to the minister’s reply, only Special Category States are provided Special Plan Assistance of 90 per cent grant for projects and Special Central Assistance of 100 per cent grant to States.
The Centre’s latest announcement seems to have pushed the ruling TDP in AP into a tight spot. Opposition parties have begun stepping up pressure on the TDP to pull out of the NDA government. CPI State secretary K Ramakrishna asked Union Urban Development Minister M Venkaiah Naidu to resign from the Union Cabinet taking complete responsibility for the BJP’s failure in keeping its promise.