VIJAYAWADA: Asserting that Andhra Pradesh was not neglected in the Union Budget, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said 14 projects worth Rs 1.14 lakh crore were allotted to the State, besides other schemes and fund allocations. The Union Minister visited the city on Saturday to interact with representatives of industry and commerce and create an awareness among them on how the Union Budget would help the State and the country as a whole to achieve economic growth as it laid emphasis on increasing manufacturing capability, thereby generating more employment. Speaking to the media, he said the budgetary allocations are made wi th nat ional perspective.
He said AP was given its due share in the budget and the 14 projects allotted to the State include Visakhapatnam - Chennai Industrial Corridor, Green Energy Corridor, AP Urban Water Supply and Septage Management Improvement Project, AP Rural Roads Project, AP Irrigation Livelihood Improvement Project, Health Systems Strengthening Project, Power for All 24x7, Disaster Recovery Project and new railway lines of 1,917 km and doubling railway lines of 3,700 km.
The Production Linked Incentive Scheme will benefit AP as three of the 19 manufacturing clusters are located in the State. When it comes to setting up medical devices hub, Vizag will be the natural choice as it has the requisite infrastructure and trained human resources, he said. Asked about the disinvestment of Visakhapatnam Steel Plant, the External Affairs Minister said he is not the right person to answer, but he thinks that any decision with regard to disinvestment in any sector is taken keeping the welfare of employees and employment aspects into consideration.
On non-allotment of a metro rail project to AP though it is long-pending demand, BJP MP GVL Narasimha Rao blamed the State government’s ‘inaction’ for it. The metro rail project was not allotted to AP as there was no proposal for it from the State in the first place. Several projects sanctioned for the State are pending for want of land, which the government failed to acquire, he pointed out.