Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy on Sunday asked the Centre to form a special committee to resolve inter-state disputes.

He was speaking at the Southern Zonal Conference presided by Union Home Minister Amit Shah in Tirupati today.

A proper focus on inter-state relations was also vital for progress on the nation, Reddy said adding: “There is a need for an action plan to resolve inter - state issues with specific timelines.”

Referring to challenges for Andhra Pradesh, Reddy, the State had `lost significantly’ on account of its bifurcation to create Telangana in 2014.

“The per capita income in Telangana after bifurcation in 2015-16 was ₹15,454 while in Andhra Pradesh it was only at ₹8,979. This exemplifies how the State was at loss due to bifurcation,” he added.

Even after seven years, many assurances given to Andhra Pradesh in the AP Bifurcation Act 2014 remained unresolved causing 'severe economic loss’ to the state, the Chief Minister said.

Listing out key issues which need to be resolved, Reddy said the Centre was `trying to avoid release of funds for the drinking water component of the Polavaram project.

The funds to be released to the state on account of the `resource gap’ for the first year of bifurcation has not been completely compensated by the Centre in the Union Budget of 2015-16 as mandated by the Finance Commission, the Chief Minister said and requested the Centre to release the pending funds on a priority basis.

The dues to Andhra Pradesh Generation Corporation from Telangana to the tune of ₹6,112 crore for the period between June 2014 - June 2017 were not paid yet, he said.

Even though the bifurcation of the state was done with a promise of special status to Andhra Pradesh, it still remained pending even after seven years, Reddy said

Various ministers and officials from Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Puducherry and Lieutenant Governors of Puducherry, Andaman and Nicobar and Administrator of Lakshwadeep, among others also attended the conference, according to a release.

comment COMMENT NOW