HYDERABAD: Union Power Minister RK Singh on Tuesday said that the Central government suggested to both Andhra Pradesh and Telangana to amicably resolve the power dues issues between them.
Replying to a question raised by Andhra Pradesh MP V Vijayasai Reddy in Rajya Sabha on Tuesday, Singh said the AP Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy had written to the Central government in July, 2021 with regard to the non-payment of power dues amounting to Rs 6,111.88 crore, by the Telangana government.
“A meeting was held with the representatives of AP and Telangana. The facts which emerged therein are: This is a post-bifurcation event. Power supply is as per the agreement between Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. Initially, Telangana was paying Andhra Pradesh for the power drawn from it. There is no dispute regarding the principal amount to be paid for the power supplied by Andhra Pradesh to Telangana. However, some reconciliation was required in the interest to be paid on the principal amount by Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. Both the States had agreed to reconcile the figure as per the terms and conditions of the Power Purchase Agreement. As the payment has not been received from Telangana, Andhra Pradesh filed a petition in the High Court of Telangana. As the matter is sub-judice, and the power was supplied under a bilateral agreement, the Government of India has suggested to both the States to amicably resolve the issue among themselves,” the Union Minister said.
Devolution of taxes
To another question, Union Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary replied to Andhra Pradesh MP GVL Narasimha Rao that the share of devolution of taxes and funds from the Centre to Telangana from 2014 till November 2021 is Rs 1,88,489.31 crore. Tweeting later, Narasimha Rao said that combined AP received just Rs 40,123 crore from the Central government in 2013-14. However, in 2020-21, AP got Rs 77,538 crore and Telangana got Rs 62, 875 crore, a total of Rs 1,40,413 crore, a 350 per cent increase over 2013-14.