Sarabjit Kaur
Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Tuesday demanded the centre to grant industrial incentives along with special category status to the state on par with states enjoying those benefits.
Replying to a short duration discussion on industrial investments in the state assembly, Naidu asked why the BJP, which sought special category status (SCS) for Andhra Pradesh for 10 years, was now backtracking while all other parties were supporting the just demand.
Naidu’s party, the TDP, quit the ruling NDA alliance last week over the SCS issue and has given notice for no-confidence motion against the central government.
“What am I asking? I am only asking the centre to review the AP Reorganisation Act, 2014 and the assurances given in Rajya Sabha (by the then prime minister Manmohan Singh),” Naidu said.
“I will be very happy if you say we have done this and there will be no need for me to question you,” he said.
He said that Andhra Pradesh was the only state that achieved a double digit economic growth rate of 10.5 per cent in the last three years.
“Had the centre co-operated with us and fulfilled the promises made at the time of bifurcation, we would have achieved more growth,” Naidu said.
“We are contributing to the nation’s growth and hence the centre should accord SCS and also extend industrial incentives to spur industrial growth in the state,” he said.
The state was still lagging in per capita income by at least Rs 35,000 as compared to other southern states because of the bifurcation.
Despite all this, Naidu said, the state was consistently achieving double-digit growth.
Taking part in the discussion, industries minister N Amarnath Reddy said that 2,536 memorandums of understanding were signed in the last three years to attract an investment of Rs 18.55 lakh crore and create 44.28 lakh jobs in the state.
Of this, 533 major industrial units already went into production with an investment of Rs 1.29 lakh crore and created 2.64 lakh jobs, he said.
Another 26,368 micro, small and medium enterprises, with an investment of Rs 11,779 crore, also went into production, creating 3.09 lakh jobs, the minister added.
