VIJAYAWADA: Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy is scheduled to leave for New Delhi on Monday on a two-day visit. After reaching New Delhi on Monday afternoon, Jagan will meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi at 4 pm. He is expected to discuss several issues, including privatisation of Visakhapatnam Steel Plant and financial assistance to AP, during the meeting.
Opposing the Centre’s decision to go for 100% strategic disinvestment of RINL-Visakhapatnam Steel Plant (VSP), Jagan wrote a letter to the Prime Minister in March 2021 urging the Centre to reconsider its move and suggested measures to revive the steel plant, which included allotment of captive iron ore mines, financial restructuring and monetising of the VSP’s unutilised land. Another important issue, Jagan is likely to raise during the meeting is Central funding for Polavaram project.
The approval of revised cost estimates of Polavaram project is still pending with the Ministry of Finance. Extension of development package for the backward Uttarandhra and Rayalaseema on the lines of Kalahandi, Bolangir and Koraput (KBK) and Bundelkhand, incentives for setting up industries in the two regions, implementation of pending provisions of the AP Reorganisation Act, funding of railway projects in the State and other issues are likely to figure in the meeting.
The CM had already raised the issues in the 29th meeting of the Southern Zonal Council held in Tirupati a few months ago. The continuation of the Andhra Pradesh Legislative Council, for which a resolution was passed in the State Assembly, is likely to come up for discussion. Later, Jagan is likely to meet Home Minister Amit Shah, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat pertaining to pending issues of the State.