The Centre on Thursday announced a ‘special assistance’ of Rs. 1,976.5 crore for residual Andhra Pradesh to help it tide over the financial impact caused by the bifurcation of the erstwhile undivided State.

MPs from the State had raised the issue in the recently-concluded session of Parliament and the State Finance Minister Yanamala Ramakrishnudu had taken it up with the Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley.

Of the amount, Rs. 1,176.50 is for resource gap, Rs. 350 crore for the development of the seven backward districts covering Rayalaseema & the North Coastal region and Rs. 450 crore for the capital city.

“Thus, with the current sanction of funds, the Central government has so far provided an assistance of Rs. 8379.50 crore to the State of Andhra Pradesh, which includes Rs. 4,403 crore released during 2014-15 and Rs. 2,000 crore released during 2015-16 in terms of the provisions under the Andhra Pradesh Re-organisation Act, 2014,” the Centre said.

The Andhra Pradesh Re-organisation Act, 2014 laid out the provisions for the Centre to make grants in the form of special assistance to the backward areas of the successor States and provide assistance for the creation of a new capital and to bridge the resource gap arising post-bifurcation.

Panel meeting

In July, Mr. Ramakrishnudu had met Mr. Jaitley during an Empowered Committee meeting of Finance Ministers and requested him to release Rs. 7,269.46 crore Central sales tax compensation pending since 2012-13.

The grant from the Centre also comes at a time when MPs from Telangana have been staging protests demanding separate High Courts in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.

[Source: The Hindu]