AP Chief Minister YS Jaganmohan Reddy met Union Home Minister Amit Shah. Funds due to the state and dues were discussed. Polavaram project funds should be released immediately. Many issues related to the state were discussed. The Chief Minister, who raised an objection on the issue of black water, asked them to stop taking further action. The Home Minister pointed out that 5 SLPs are already pending in the Supreme Court challenging the decision of KWDT-II. The CM explained that he had brought the same matter to the attention of the Union Hydropower Minister twice in the past.. He stated that it was brought up on 17.08.2021 and then on 25-06-2022. Objection was raised that the Union Cabinet’s approval on 4.10.2023 for issuance of Terms of Reference (ToR) for KWDT-II may be detrimental to the interests of the people of AP. It is illogical to limit the regulations to only Andhra Pradesh and Telangana instead of Karnataka and Maharashtra in the basin. Taking into consideration the concerns of the people of Andhra Pradesh, they appealed to the concerned persons to order them not to take any further action. CM Jagan discussed the release of funds for the Polavaram project. The Chief Minister requested to pay special attention to this. The CM reminded that the Technical Advisory Committee has already approved the cost of Polavaram project at 55,548.87 crores as per the 2017-18 price index. He said that the release of Rs. 12,911.15 crores has been approved as per the earlier appeal made by the state government to release money to speed up the work of the Polavaram project. However, the CM has re-examined this and made fresh estimates. According to the lidar survey, the flooded families have to be moved to protected areas in additional 36 habitations. He asked to release the funds to Amera saying that Rs.17,144.06 crores will be required to complete the first phase of Polavaram. He also appealed to the state government to reimburse Rs.1,355 crore spent from its own funds for the construction of the Polavaram project. On the other hand, CM Jagan met Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday. Various issues related to the state were discussed. As the Technical Advisory Council has already approved the construction cost of the Polavaram project at Rs.55,548.87 crores as per 2017-18 prices, the central government has been asked to approve it. He said that he was happy to approve the release of Rs.12,911.15 crore ad hoc to speed up the work of the Polavaram project. He also met with Union Power Minister RK Singh.
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