kesineni-nani

AP REORGANISATION ACT.

The Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2014 bifurcated the state of Andhra Pradesh, into Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. The unscientific division of stately assets created a dirge of resources for the newly formed state of ‘Andhra Pradesh’, now left with no capital city. In 2014, the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) joined the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) with the motive of developing the newly formed state of Andhra Pradesh. However, the demands of Telugu Desam party were disregarded by the current Central Government led by Shri Narendra Modi.

For over 4 years, the issues were kept pending by the Central Government and despite the constant efforts by the Hon’ Chief Minister, Shri N. Chandrababu Naidu, the demands were not met. Kesineni Nani fought against this injustice at the central level and highlighted the broken promises that were made to the people of Andhra Pradesh by the BJP. He has advocated ardently for the rights of the people of Andhra Pradesh and has been one of the prominent figures to have led the path for the resolution of the 19 issues, which have been pending in the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act.

Out of the 19 issues pending in the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, following 10 are the most important: -

  1. In September 2016, NITI Aayog dismissed the grant of special status category to any state in India, but the Finance Minister Mr. Arun Jaitley announced that Andhra Pradesh would be provided a tag of ‘Equivalent to Special Category Status’. However, no such tag has been accorded by the Central Government till date.
  2. 9 Externally Aided Projects (EAPs) have been pending approval from the Central Government. However, only 6 EAPs have been approved till date. The Centre agreed to aid the projects till 2020 and only to the tune of ₹15,000 Crores.
  3. As per the 14th Finance Commission, Andhra Pradesh was to receive ₹16,000 Crores worth of budget deficit from the Central Government, but only ₹3,900 Crores were disbursed. This is vital to pay long standing arrears and pensions respectively.
  4. Financial Assistance worth ₹43,000 Crores is required for the development of essential infrastructure in the newly formed capital city of Andhra Pradesh – Amaravathi. The Centre, so far, has only released an amount of ₹2,500 Crores.
  5. As per the Reorganisation Act, 4 Railway divisions namely Visakhapatnam, Vijayawada, Guntur and Guntakal were to be brought under the Visakhapatnam zone. The state has requested the Centre on multiple occasions but the issue remains unresolved with the Centre.
  6. The current Central Government promised that it would assist in the establishment of Institutes of National Importance in Andhra Pradesh. However, approvals for the establishment of the Central University of Anantapur and the Tribal University of Vizianagaram are still pending. Approval is also pending for the National Disaster Response Force.
  7. Tax Anomalies – Section 50-51 means that loans and tax arrears will be recovered on the basis of location and Section 56 says that refund of tax will be on the basis of population. Due to the bifurcation, this causes a total loss ₹3,820 Crores to Andhra Pradesh on account of arrears, deferred taxes and refunds. This anomaly is not found in other Reorganisation Acts.
  8. The current Central Government promised to support the development of backward districts of the State. As of date, an amount of only ₹700 Crores has been released with no further support for the development of Industries in these districts.
  9. Andhra Pradesh still provides electricity to Telangana and the dues have ballooned to ₹5,732 Crores. The Central Government has done little to resolve this issue.
  10. Apportionment of Schedule IX and Schedule X institutions – There are several unresolved anomalies, which haven’t been taken up by the Central Government.