After KCR boycotts meet, Niti Aayog responds to his comments

Hyderabad: A day after Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrasekar Rao said he will not attend Niti Ayog's 7th Governing Council meeting, Niti Aayog responded to his comments and allegations on Sunday.

On Saturday KCR said he will not attend the meeting, set to be held on 7 August, to protest against the Centre's discrimination against the states.

According to NITI Aayog, a delegation led by the vice-chairman of Niti Aayog met the Telangana Chief Minister in Hyderabad on 21 January 2021 to discuss development issues pertaining to the state. More recently, despite requests made by Niti Aayog for a meeting, the Chief Minister did not respond.

In his letter, KCR had said in 2016, Niti Ayog had recommended a grant of Rs. 5,000 crores for Mission Kakatiya to restore minor irrigation tanks in Telangana. Another recommendation of Niti Ayog was to provide Central assistance of Rs. 19,205 crores (out of the total project cost of Rs. 42,850 crores) for Mission Bhagiratha, a pioneering scheme in the country, which has been completed in Telangana, to provide drinking water to every household in the state.

According to KCR, the government of India not only ignored these recommendations but also did not release any money for the schemes.

In response, Niti Ayog said over the last four years, the government of India has allocated Rs. 3,982 cores under the Jal Jeevan Mission for the state of Telangana. However, the state chose to draw only Rs. 200 crores. In addition, Rs. 1,195 crores were released to Telangana under PMKSY-AIBP-CADWM from 2014-2015 to 2021-2022.

Niti Ayog also claimed that the overall allocation under Centrally-sponsored schemes has increased from Rs. 2,03,740 crores in 2015-16 to Rs. 4,42,781 crores in 2022-23, i.e., more than double during this period, in addition to the substantial hike in awards under the 14th Finance Commission from 32% to 42%. Enough flexibility has also been built in for the utilization of funds allocated under CSS, it added.