VIJAYAWADA: After day-long anticipation of a special package for Andhra Pradesh, Union finance minister Arun Jaitley on Wednesday had very little to offer to the state except a promise to reimburse the revenue deficit inherited at the time of bifurcation in 2014. After protracted deliberations with his ministerial colleagues Sujana Chowdary, M Venkaiah Naidu and consultations with chief minister Chandrababu Naidu, Jaitley made it clear at a media conference in New Delhi late Wednesday night: “There is no question of special category status (for Andhra Pradesh).
” He, however, said what the state would not get by way of special category status, it would get in the form of externally aided projects. He was non-committal on whether the promised railway zone would be headquartered in Vijayawada or Visakhapatnam. Nor was he clearer when a promised steel plant would come up in Kadapa district. He was also silent on the Dugarajapatnam port project, which is said to have been shelved because of the adverse report given by a consultant hired by the Visakhapatnam ort Trust. The only silver lining was that Jaitley made a categorical statement that the Polavaram project would be funded ntirely by the Centre as it is a national project.
“The Centre will authorise the state to execute the project,” he said and pointed out that all expenditure incurred on the project since April 1, 2014 would be borne by the Centre. As regards the revenue deficit, the finance minister said, without committing to a number, that it would be entirely bridged. “We have already paid Rs.3,975 crore. The remaining too will be paid,” he said and recalled that the Centre has already released RS. 2,500 crore for the new capital and Rs. 1,050 crore as a backward areas grant. As regards tax concessions, Jaitley said notifications would be issued soon compensating for accelerated depreciation and towards inve s tment allowance.
He was vague about the Vizag- Chennai and Chennai-Bangalore industrial corridors and said the Union Ministry of Commerce would take care of them. As regards premier educational institutions, all of them would be set up as required under the laws, he said. There had been eager anticipating all day that the Union finance minister was poised to unfurl a great big special package for Andhra Pradesh while wriggling out of a commitment to give the state special category status. Rumours of a Rs 1.5 lakh crore special package were circulated in political circles here. In Vijayawada, Chandrababu Naidu stayed put in his camp office, receiving updates from Sujana Chowdhary and discussing with his ministers Y Ramakrishnudu, Ganta Srinivasa Rao and Devineni Umamaheswara Rao.